Etiologic and Clinical Evaluation of Acute Lower RespiratoryThact Infections in Young Argentinian Children: An Overview

Abstract

This paper summarizes the first study on clinical, etiologic, and epidemiologic features of acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) in children in Argentina. A total of 1,003 children Bordetella pertussis and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, however, were searched for by the use of immunofluorescence and complementfixation testing, respectively, in paired sera. Respiratory syncytial virus was the most commonly isolated virus, followed by adenovirus, parainfluenza virus, and influenza virus. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most frequently isolated bacterium, followed by B pertussis and Haemophilus influenzae type b. Overall, the patient fatality rate was 3.8070 among inpatients with pneumonia or bronchiolitis.