Abstract

We aimed to determine the distribution of frequency of respiratory viruses detected in nasopharyngeal swab samples of patients under 5 years of age, who were hospitalized in the inpatient unit of pediatric emergency department during last year, by seasons, age and clinical findings. Hospitalization files of the patients were examined retrospectively. Patients’ age, gender, admission complaint, physical examination findings, season they admitted, need for non-invasive mechanical ventilation, duration of hospital stay and result of nasopharyngeal swab viral polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were recorded. When results of the nasopharyngeal swab viral PCR of the patients were examined, it was determined that no virus was isolated in 43 (26.5%) patients and in 119 (73.5%), however, at least one virus was isolated. Of these 119 patients; only one virus was detected in 82 (68.9%) and two or more viruses in 37 (31.1%). It was observed that 87 (53.7%) did not receive any antibiotics and 75 (46.3%) patients were treated with one or more antibiotics. Early detection of viral pathogens is thought to prevent unnecessary antibiotic use, control of antibiotic resistance, shorten hospital stay and decrease treatment costs.

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