Patient characteristics according to culture result (n = 165)
| RSV only | Bacterial co-infection (>105 cfu/ml) | Low bacterial growth (<105 cfu/ml) | Bacteria positive (co-infection + low bacterial growth) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data shown as median (IQR). | ||||
| cfu/ml, colony forming units of a single bacterial species per ml of diagnostic sample; OI, oxygen index (mean airways pressure (MAP) × Fio2/Pao2); VI, ventilation index (respiratory rate × Paco2 × peak inspiratory pressure/1000); CRP, C-reactive protein; PICU, paediatric intensive care unit. | ||||
| *RSV only v bacterial co-infection. | ||||
| †RSV only v low bacteria growth. | ||||
| ‡RSV only v all those positive for bacteria (bacterial co-infection + low bacteria growth). | ||||
| ¶Retrieved, patients retrieved from other hospitals; intra-hospital, patients admitted from wards within our hospital; A&E, patients admitted directly from the Accident & Emergency department. | ||||
| §Co-morbidities = congenital heart disease, chronic lung disease, abnormality of large airways, immunodeficiencies, neuromuscular disease. | ||||
| Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test used for comparisons except for prior antibiotics and co-morbidities (McNemar’s test). | ||||
| N (% of total) | 95 (57.6%) | 36 (21.8%) | 34 (20.6%) | 70 (42.4%) |
| Origin (retrieved/intra-hospital/A&E)¶ | 48/29/18 | 11/17/8 | 14/11/9 | 25/28/17 |
| Age (months) | 1.4 (0.4–3.9) | 1.3 (0.7–2.5)p = 0.8* | 3.5 (1.2–10)p = 0.04† | 1.8 (0.9–4.6)p = 0.9‡ |
| Paediatric index of mortality | 0.08 (0.03–0.12) | 0.09 (0.04–0.14)p = 0.6* | 0.08 (0.06–0.12)p = 0.5† | 0.08 (0.05–0.13)p = 0.6‡ |
| Length of ventilation (days) | 4 (3–7) | 6 (4–8)p<0.01* | 6 (5–9)p<0.01† | 6 (4–8)p<0.01‡ |
| Admission OI in PICU | 8 (5–12) | 6 (4–9)p = 0.2* | 9 (6–12)p = 0.6† | 7 (4–11)p = 0.7‡ |
| Admission VI in PICU | 26 (18–39) | 27 (16–44)p = 0.9* | 26 (20–32) p = 0.2† | 27 (19–39)p = 0.8‡ |
| White cell count (×109 cells/l) on PICU admission | 9.8 (7.2–13.7) | 10.6 (7.1–13.5)p = 0.5* | 11.5 (6.9–14.7)p = 0.6† | 11.3 (7.1–13.8)p = 0.4‡ |
| Neutrophil count (×109 cells/l) on PICU admission | 5.2 (2.9–7.6) | 7.1 (3.9–10.3)p = 0.1* | 5.8 (3–10.3)p = 0.9† | 6.2 (3.6–10.3)p = 0.2‡ |
| CRP (mg/l) on PICU admission | 14 (4–45) | 14 (5–52)p = 0.9* | 21 (4–46)p = 0.9† | 18 (4–49)p = 0.9‡ |
| Antibiotics before PICU admission | 48% | 36% | 44% | 40%p = 0.08‡ |
| Time on prior antibiotics (days) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–3) | 1 (1–3) | 1 (1–3) |
| Mortality (RSV related deaths) | 8 (3) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 4 (2) |
| Percentage with co-morbidities§ | 40% | 61% | 41% | 51%p = 0.6‡ |