Based on the cases initially selected for this study, two groups were created for analysis (both with negative blood cultures), according to the PCR results: the Gadv group, which included cases with selleck screening library positive PCR exclusively for ADV, and the

Grsv group, which included cases with positive PCR exclusively for RSV, compared to the other viruses studied. In the bivariate analysis, the chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test were used for qualitative variables, and Student’s t-test or the Mann-Whitney test were used for quantitative variables. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows® release 13.0 (SPSS Inc. – Chicago, IL, USA) was used for the statistical analyses, and the statistical significance level was set at 5%. The preliminary study incorporated 1,121 NPA samples. After excluding repeated or inadequate samples and applying the inclusion criteria,

813 samples were initially selected, corresponding to different episodes of suspected ALRI that occurred in 712 children. Of these, 633 (88.9%) were included only once. Among the conclusive cases that were initially selected, 50.3% (409/813) samples were positive for at least one of the viruses studied, with RSV present in 27.3% (222/813), ADV in 15.8% (128/813), PIV in 7.2% (59/813), C59 wnt MPV in 4.8% (39/813), and FLU in 4.5% (37/813) of the cases studied. A total of 637/712 (89.5%) patients studied had negative blood culture results; 58 cases were included in the Gadv group, and 134 in the Grsv group. The clinical and epidemiological aspects of the Gadv and Grsv groups are compared in Table 1, while Fig. 1 presents the distribution of cases by age range in both groups. Tolmetin Fig. 2 compares the median values of the inflammatory markers studied in the Gadv and Grsv

groups. Fig. 3 presents the seasonal distribution of all cases that tested positive at the PCR for ADV or RSV, and the total NPA samples collected. The positivity of 50.3% for at least one of the eight screened viruses is equivalent to the findings of similar studies, while the high frequency of ADV detection, present in 15.8% of cases, second to RSV, is notable. Recently, a study in Paraguay also recorded a high rate of 18% (9/50) of ADV detection by PCR in NPA samples from children hospitalized with symptoms of severe acute respiratory infection (ARI), with 77.8% of the positive samples obtained from children younger than 2 years.19 Khamis et al.20 who used PCR to study the occurrence of 12 viruses in NPA samples in children younger than 5 years admitted with ARIs, obtained an overall positivity of 51% (130/256), with RSV in 21.9% and ADV in 7.8% of the studied cases. In São Paulo, Brazil, Thomazelli et al.21 reported an overall positivity rate of 55.6% (187/336), with RSV in 24.