Pathogen and Patient Characteristics and the Severity of Viral Respiratory Infections in Children - PubMed

4 hours ago

Respiratory infections are a leading cause of pediatric hospitalization and burden on healthcare systems.
The study evaluated clinical outcomes and risk factors for severe disease in hospitalized children with viral respiratory infections.
Key risk factors for severe disease included infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or influenza, and presence of chronic comorbidities like cardiac or pulmonary diseases.
Children with influenza infection and preexisting comorbidities had higher ICU admission rates.
Age and coinfections were not significantly associated with worse outcomes.
The findings support the need for targeted prevention, vaccination strategies, and early identification of at-risk children.
The INF-ACT network provides a scalable model for real-time infectious disease monitoring in pediatric populations.

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