Clinical correlates of rhinovirus infection in preschool asthma

Abstract

Background: Investigation of preschool asthma is important since not all children outgrow their illness during this age. Data are scarce on the role of rhinovirus (RV) infections in this patient group. Objectives: To investigate the role of RV infections in preschool asthma: (i) susceptibility factors, (ii) clinical course, and (iii) medium-term outcome. Methods: A total of 130 asthmatic children aged 4-6 years from the multinational PreDicta cohort were prospectively followed for a 12-month period. Allergy tests and a standard health questionnaire were carried out at study entry. Respiratory virus presence in nasopharyngeal washes was studied at illness visits and at 3 scheduled visits. Results: At study entry, mean age of the children was 5.3 years. Of 571 visits, 54% were positive for any virus and 39% for RV. Patient characteristics were only assessed with RV infection due to low number of other viruses. The use of supplementary vitamin D was inversely associated with RV infection (P