Nawracająca brodawczakowatość układu oddechowego – epidemiologia i charakterystyka infekcji HPV u dzieci

Abstract

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is the most common non-malignant neoplastic respiratory tract disease in children. Main symptoms are related to the periods of recurrent growth of multiple exophytic nodules covering the surface of the mucosa interfering with the patency of the airways. The connection between juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP) and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is undisputable and clearly confirmed.Actual epidemiological studies display the relationship between the disease in a child and a low socio-economic status of a family, mother's young age, sexual activity of parents measured by the number of sexual partners before a child's birth and clinically obvious HPV infections in mother or father.RRP in children may be mild and self-limiting or aggressive in character, with a poor prognosis. The papillomas may spread throughout the entire respiratory tree, but most often involve the larynx. Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis causes hoarseness (that may progress to aphonia) and upper respiratory obstruction. The chronic curse of the disease always unfavourably affects the patient's quality of life.Laboratory diagnosis of HPV infections is dependent upon molecular techniques such as DNA hybridization or nucleic acid amplification. Routine application of molecular techniques such as PCR for detection and analysis of HPVs in patients with RRP has diagnostic and prognostic significance.