Abstract
The role of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in acute lower respiratory infection in infants and young children in Kuwait was investigated in a prospective study. Of the 523 children under 13 years of age admitted to Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital between August 1993 and June 1994 209 (40%) had RSV infection. 170 (81%) of these children had no underlying symptoms 25 (12%) had asthma 6 (3%) had neurologic diseases 3 (1.4%) had congenital heart disease and 2 (1%) were preterm. The median age of RSV-positive children was 7.2 months. 89% of RSV cases occurred during the winter months. Acute bronchiolitis was the most frequent clinical feature followed by pneumonia and croup. The median duration of hospitalization was 6 days. In most cases treatment was supportive (e.g. oxygen administration in 90% and intravenous fluids in 65%); 30% of children received antibiotics. There were 3 deaths in this series for a case fatality rate of 1.4%. The 3 children who died had underlying conditions and were not treated with ribavirin.
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