Evaluation of Risk Factors for Exacerbations in Children with Adenoviral Pneumonia

Severe Adenovirus Pneumonia Masked by Influenza Virus in an 11-Year-Old Child: A Case Report

Background

Adenovirus pneumonia progresses rapidly, with a high rate of progression to severe pneumonia, but the early clinical manifestations lack specificity and are not easy to be recognized.

Methods

Reviewing the relevant literatures, we studied and summarized the early recognition, clinical features and treatment outlook of severe adenovirus pneumonia Case Presentation: An 11-year-old child with community-acquired pneumonia, with influenza A antigen positive by colloidal gold, which further developed into acute respiratory distress syndrome after hospitalization. Three days later, adenovirus was detected positively by PCR of throat swab and diagnosed as severe adenovirus pneumonia. After aggressive treatment, her condition improved and was discharged from the hospital.

Conclusion

Clinically, adenovirus combined with influenza virus infection is uncommon, and adenovirus infection is even rarer in adolescent children.

Clinical features and prediction of risk factors for severe adenovirus pneumonia in children

Background

Adenoviral infections are most likely to invade the respiratory tract, and the clinical manifestations of the infections are varied; in severe cases, they may cause systemic multi-system damages and so on. At present, early clinical differential diagnosis is difficult under the existing testing methods, so it is important to analyze its clinical characteristics and risk factors for early identification of critical status and early and rational treatment.

Methods

The clinical data of 202 children with adenovirus pneumonia admitted to Tianjin Children's Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the evaluation criteria for severe pneumonia, they were divided into a severe group (77 cases) and a non-severe group (125 cases). The clinical characteristics, complications, and laboratory data of the 2 groups were collected for statistical analysis, and then significant factors were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and binary logistic regression.

Results

Among the 202 children with adenovirus pneumonia, there were 108 males and 94 females. The children ranged in age from 2 months to 13 years. The duration of fever, incidence of wheezing, neutrophil ratio (NEUT%), and serum ferritin (SF) levels were significantly higher in the severe group than in the non-severe group (χ2/Z/P=-9.173/<0.001, 5.469/0.019, 5.831/<0.001, -3.845/<0.001). The incidences of liver injury, electrolyte disturbance, and coagulation dysfunction in the severe group were significantly higher than those in the non-severe group (χ2/Z/P=0.001/0.001, 28.208/0.001, 32.079/0.001). Logistic regression combined with ROC curve analysis suggested that fever duration >4.50 days, with wheezing, NEUT% ≥47.60, and SF ≥139.60 ng/mL were risk factors for developing severe adenovirus pneumonia in children [odds ratio (OR) (95% CI): 1.394 (1.230-1.581), 3.673 (1.246-10.828), 1.034 (1.001-1.067), 1.004 (1.001-1.008)].

Conclusions

Studies have shown that the fever associated with severe adenovirus pneumonia has a long duration, and that severe clinical manifestations and multiple complications, fever duration >4.50 days, wheezing, NEUT% ≥47.60, and SF ≥139.60 ng/mL are risk factors for severe adenovirus pneumonia.

Pediatric adenovirus pneumonia: clinical practice and current treatment

Adenovirus pneumonia is common in pediatric upper respiratory tract infection, which is comparatively easy to develop into severe cases and has a high mortality rate with many influential sequelae. As for pathogenesis, adenoviruses can directly damage target cells and activate the immune response to varying degrees. Early clinical recognition depends on patients' symptoms and laboratory tests, including those under 2 years old, dyspnea with systemic toxic symptoms, atelectasis or emphysema in CT image, decreased leukocytes, and significantly increased C-reaction protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), indicating the possibility of severe cases. Until now, there is no specific drug for adenovirus pneumonia, so in clinical practice, current treatment comprises antiviral drugs, respiratory support and bronchoscopy, immunomodulatory therapy, and blood purification. Additionally, post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO), hemophagocytic syndrome, and death should be carefully noted. Independent risk factors associated with the development of PIBO are invasive mechanical ventilation, intravenous steroid use, duration of fever, and male gender. Meanwhile, hypoxemia, hypercapnia, invasive mechanical ventilation, and low serum albumin levels are related to death. Among these, viral load and serological identification are not only "gold standard" for adenovirus pneumonia, but are also related to the severity and prognosis. Here, we discuss the progress of pathogenesis, early recognition, therapy, and risk factors for poor outcomes regarding severe pediatric adenovirus pneumonia.

Ferritin in pediatric critical illness: a scoping review

This scoping review aimed to elucidate and summarize the predictive role of serum ferritin in critical pediatric illness. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses methodology was employed to conduct a scoping review of 5 databases (MEDLINE, CENTRAL, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Epistemonikos) from the date of inception through January 24, 2022. Primary research studies involving subjects aged <18 years and serum ferritin levels were screened and reviewed independently following an a priori defined protocol. Of the 1,580 retrieved studies, 66 were analyzed. Summary statistics of serum ferritin levels for overall and condition-specific studies were reported in 30 (45.4%) and 47 studies (71.2%), respectively. The normal range was defined in 16 studies (24.2%), whereas the threshold was determined in 43 studies (65.1%). A value of <500 ng/mL was most often the upper limit of the normal range. Serum ferritin as a numerical variable (78.9%) was usually significantly higher (80.8%) in the predicted condition than in controls, while as a categorical variable with preset thresholds, ferritin was a significant predictor in 84.6% of studies. A total of 22 predictive thresholds predicted mortality (12 of 46 [26.1%]), morbidity (18 of 46 [39.1%]), and specific (16 of 46 [34.8%]) outcomes in 15 unique conditions. Increased precision in serum ferritin measures followed by close attention to the threshold modeling strategy and reporting can accelerate the translation from evidence to clinical practice.

Interleukin-6 serum levels are independently associated with severe adenovirus pneumonia in children: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to explore the potential association between interleukin-6 (IL-6) serum levels and severe adenovirus pneumonia (SAP) in children.

METHODS

A retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted on children with SAP who presented to the Tianjin Children's Hospital between January 2019 and December 2020. Serum IL-6 levels were categorized into quintiles (Q1-5). The primary outcome variable was the occurrence of SAP. The patients' clinical features, laboratory findings, and radiographic characteristics were also assessed, and a descriptive bivariate analysis was carried out. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate the relationship of IL-6 with SAP after adjustment for confounders. The nonlinear relationship between IL-6 and SAP was also analyzed. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

In total, 542 patients met our inclusion criteria (223 males and 319 females). The mean IL-6 serum level was 38.51 pg/mL (range, 1.50-659.2 pg/mL). After adjustment for confounders, the odds ratio (OR) per SD (standard deviation) increase in IL-6 was 1.66 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14, 2.41]. The multivariable-adjusted OR (95% CI) of SAP across the Q1-Q5 categories of IL-6 were as follows: 1.00 (reference), 1.17 (0.59, 2.35), 1.79 (0.88, 3.63), 2.31 (1.12, 4.76), and 2.85 (1.32, 6.14) (P for trend =0.002). The risk of SAP increased with the IL-6 serum level up to 40.78 pg/mL (adjusted OR 1.029, 95% CI: 1.008-1.051; P=0.007); however, when the IL-6 level exceeded 40.78 pg/mL, it had no association with the risk of SAP (OR 1.003, 95% CI: 0.996-1.010; P=0.384).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that the serum level of IL-6 is associated with the risk of SAP in children. The levels of IL-6 in children should therefore be of concern to clinicians.

Based on the Auxiliary Effect of X-Ray in the Treatment of Severe Pneumonia in Children with Arterial and Venous Blood Gas

Pediatric severe pneumonia clinical is a conceptual term for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric clinical diseases. At present, domestic and foreign standards for clinical diagnosis of severe pneumonia, which is a childhood disease, are still inconsistent. At present, the first book of the main pediatric medical textbook in the society interprets the clinical definition of severe pneumonia in children as follows: severe pneumonia refers to pulmonary function in heart failure or other comorbidities in other important organs except the lung. This article is based on X-ray medical film and television examinations, through the analysis of arterial and venous blood gas in children with severe pneumonia to play a certain role in adjuvant therapy for children with pneumonia. Prospective clinical studies have found significant changes in the function of auxiliary coagulation and blood fibrinolysis indicators in patients with severe pneumonia in late childhood. The obvious difference between the pretreatment and the late-stage treatment for 1 week and the direct influence on the blood gas quantitative analysis and liver function of advanced patients provide a scientific basis for the diagnosis of typical advanced childhood severe pneumonia patients with adjuvant anticoagulant therapy. The data analysis of the clinical laboratory found that the blood coagulation and fibrinolysis functions of the typical patients with severe pneumonia in the typical late stage of childhood were significantly activated, and the anticoagulant antibody substances were significantly reduced, fibrinolytic coagulation inhibitors and anticoagulants are significantly increased, fibrinolytic activators are significantly reduced, and the body is in a procoagulant state for a long time. Adjuvant anticoagulation therapy through quantitative analysis of blood gas in patients can not only effectively increase the success rate of early treatment of typical late-stage severe pneumonia in children by 64.28% but also significantly reduce the inflammatory coagulation indexes of patients with late-stage severe pneumonia in children. The functions of coagulation, anticoagulation, and coagulation fibrinolysis have been significantly restored. The advantages of X-ray-based adjuvant treatment of severe pneumonia in children with arteriovenous blood gas are good contrast, clear imaging, and clear development of fine lesions or thick parts, and objective records are kept for comparison during review and consultation and discussion. The disadvantage is that the operation is more complicated, and it is not convenient to observe the activity function of the organ.

Construction and Verification of a Predictive Model for Risk Factors in Children With Severe Adenoviral Pneumonia

OBJECTIVE

To construct and validate a predictive model for risk factors in children with severe adenoviral pneumonia based on chest low-dose CT imaging and clinical features.

METHODS

A total of 177 patients with adenoviral pneumonia who underwent low-dose CT examination were collected between January 2019 and August 2019. The assessment criteria for severe pneumonia were divided into mild group (N = 125) and severe group (N = 52). All cases divided into training cohort (N = 125) and validation cohort (N = 52). We constructed a prediction model by drawing a nomogram and verified the predictive efficacy of the model through the ROC curve, calibration curve and decision curve analysis.

RESULTS

The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05) between the mild adenovirus pneumonia group and the severe adenovirus pneumonia group in gender, age, weight, body temperature, L/N ratio, LDH, ALT, AST, CK-MB, ADV DNA, bronchial inflation sign, emphysema, ground glass sign, bronchial wall thickening, bronchiectasis, pleural effusion, consolidation score, and lobular inflammation score. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that gender, LDH value, emphysema, consolidation score, and lobular inflammation score were severe independent risk factors for adenovirus pneumonia in children. Logistic regression was employed to construct clinical model, imaging semantic feature model, and combined model. The AUC values of the training sets of the three models were 0.85 (0.77-0.94), 0.83 (0.75-0.91), and 0.91 (0.85-0.97). The AUC of the validation set was 0.77 (0.64-0.91), 0.83 (0.71-0.94), and 0.85 (0.73-0.96), respectively. The calibration curve fit good of the three models. The clinical decision curve analysis demonstrates the clinical application value of the nomogram prediction model.

CONCLUSION

The prediction model based on chest low-dose CT image characteristics and clinical characteristics has relatively clear predictive value in distinguishing mild adenovirus pneumonia from severe adenovirus pneumonia in children and might provide a new method for early clinical prediction of the outcome of adenovirus pneumonia in children.

Lactate dehydrogenase and the severity of adenoviral pneumonia in children: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Children with severe adenoviral pneumonia (ADVP) have poor prognosis and high risk of mortality. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the association between pretreatment lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and severity, postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO), and mortality in children with ADVP.

METHODS

Relevant observational studies were identified by search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang, and CNKI databases from inception to August 3, 2022. A random effect model was used to pool the results by incorporating the potential between-study heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Overall, 23 studies with 4,481 children with ADVP were included in this meta-analysis. Results of meta-analysis showed that children with severe ADVP had a significantly higher level of pretreatment LDH as compared to those with non-severe ADVP (standard mean difference [SMD]: 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.36 to 0.66, p < 0.001; I ² = 69%). Besides, pooled results also suggested that the pretreatment LDH was significantly higher in children who developed PIBO as compared to those who did not (SMD: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.84, p = 0.02, I ² = 80%). Finally, results of the meta-analysis also confirmed that a higher pretreatment LDH (>500 IU/L) was a risk factor of increased mortality during hospitalization (odds ratio: 3.10, 95% CI: 1.62 to 5.92, p < 0.001, I ² = 0%). Sensitivity analyses by excluding one dataset at a time showed consistent results.

CONCLUSION

High pretreatment LDH may be associated with disease severity, development of PIBO, and increased risk of mortality in children with ADVP.

Clinical features and epidemiological analysis of respiratory human adenovirus infection in hospitalized children: a cross-sectional study in Zhejiang

Background

HAdV is one of the common pathogens in hospitalized children with acute respiratory infections (ARIs). We aim to describe the clinical and laboratory features, epidemiological characteristics, and HAdV species and/or types of inpatients with HAdV respiratory infections.

Methods

Respiratory samples were gathered from inpatients diagnosed ARIs in Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and were detected by using Direct Immunofluorescence Assay from 2018 to 2019. PCR amplification and sequencing of the hypervariable zone of hexon gene were used for genotyping. The clinical and laboratory features, and HAdV genotyping, and epidemiological characteristic analysis were retrospectively performed.

Results

Of 7072 samples collected, 488 were identified as HAdV-positive. The overall detection rate was 6.9%. The peaked detection rate was 14.1% in January 2019. HAdV-positive cases with ARIs mainly appeared in winter. The detection rate was highest among children between 6 months and 2 years (8.7%, 123/1408). Clinical diagnosis included pneumonia (70.3%, 343/488), bronchitis (7.0%, 34/488) and acute upper respiratory tract infection (22.7%, 111/488). The common clinical manifestations were fever (93.4%, 456/488), cough (94.7%, 462/488), wheezing (26.2%, 128/488), and shortness of breath (14.8%, 72/488). 213 (43.6%) cases had co-infection and 138 (28.3%) cases had extrapulmonary symptoms. 96(19.7%) cases had intrapulmonary and intrathoracic complications.78 (16.0%) had an underlying condition, most of which were congenital heart diseases (20.5%, 16/78). The proportions of hyperpyrexia, duration of fever > 10 days, severe pneumonia, and wheezing in the co-infection group were remarkably higher than those in HAdV single-infection group (all p < 0.05). The proportions of duration of hospitalization, duration of fever > 10 days, wheezing, shortness of breath, change in level of consciousness, serosal fluids, extrapulmonary symptoms, co-infections and underlying diseases were significantly higher in severe pneumonia group than those in the mild pneumonia group (all p < 0.05). Four HAdV species were successfully identified in 155 cases and presented by 8 genotypes. HAdV-B3 (56.1%, 87/155) and HAdV -B7 (31.0%, 48/155) were the most predominant detected types and occurred commonly in different severity groups (p = 0.000), while, HAdV-B55 was detected only in the severe group. HAdV-B7’s detection rate in the severe pneumonia group was significantly higher than the non-severe pneumonia group.

Conclusion

HAdV detection rate is related to age and season. Bronchopneumonia accounts for about 70% HAdV-positive inpatients. The common clinical manifestations include hyperpyrexia, cough, wheezing, and shortness of breath. HAdV-B3 and HAdV-B7 are the most common types in children diagnosed with respiration infections.

Risk Factors for the Development of Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis in Children With Severe Adenovirus Pneumonia: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Objective: To investigate and analyze the relevant risk factors for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in children with severe adenovirus pneumonia (SAP). Methods: A retrospective study of children with SAP was performed in 30 cases developing HLH and 94 cases not developing HLH from December 2018 to August 2019. The binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors that were significantly associated with the development of HLH after the univariate analysis, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to find out the cut-off value for the significant relevant factors. Results: Two factors were associated with the development of HLH, which were the length of fever (OR = 1.331, 95%CI: 1.002-1.769) and triglycerides (TG) (OR = 17.345, 95%CI: 1.358-221.538). The cut-off value of the length of fever was 12.5 days, and the cut-off value of TG was 3.02 mmol/L. Conclusion: Children with SAP who had a duration of fever over 12.5 days and the TG level over 3.02 mmol/L are more likely to develop HLH.