Detection of Respiratory Viruses in the Clinical Outcome of Children With Fever and Neutropenia.

Background: Several evidence-based guidelines for the management of children with febrile neutropenia (FN) have been published, with special focus in bacterial and fungal infections. However, the role of acute respiratory infections caused by respiratory viruses (RV) has not been clearly established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology, clinical presentation and outcome of acute respiratory infections in children with FN.

Methods: Patients, <18 years of age admitted to the Pediatric Oncology-Hematology Unit after developing FN between November 2010 and December 2013, were prospectively included in the study. Children were evaluated by clinical examination and laboratory tests. Nasopharyngeal sample was obtained for detection of RV.

Results: There was a total of 112 episodes of FN in 73 children admitted to the hospital during a 32-month period. According to disease severity, 33% of the episodes were considered moderate or severe. Rhinovirus was the most frequently detected RV (66.6%; 24/36), followed by parainfluenza. On regard to clinical outcome, RV-infected children developed fewer episodes of moderate or severe FN compared with non-RV infected children (16.7% vs. 33.3%; P = 0.08).

Conclusions: A great proportion of children with FN admitted to a tertiary hospital had a RV isolation. The rate of this RV isolation was significantly higher when a rapid molecular test was used compared with conventional microbiologic methods. Rhinovirus was the most frequently isolated, although its role as an active agent of acute infection was not clear. Children with FN and a RV isolate had a lower rate of severe disease.