GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Acute viral respiratory illnesses are among the most common of human diseases, accounting for one-half or more of all acute illnesses. The incidence of acute respiratory disease in the United States is 3–5.6 cases per person per year. The rates are highest among children <1 year old (6.1–8.3 cases per year) and remain high until age 6, when a progressive decrease begins. Adults have 3–4 cases per person per year. Morbidity from acute respiratory illnesses accounts for 30–50% of time lost from work by adults and for 60–80% of time lost from school by children. The use of antibacterial agents to treat viral respiratory infections represents a major source of abuse of that category of drugs.
It has been estimated that two-thirds to three-fourths of cases of acute respiratory illnesses are caused by viruses. More than 200 antigenically distinct viruses from 10 genera have been reported to cause acute respiratory illness, and it is likely that additional agents will be described in the future. The vast majority of these viral infections involve the upper respiratory tract, but lower respiratory tract disease can also develop, particularly in younger age groups, in the elderly, and in certain epidemiologic settings.
The illnesses caused by respiratory viruses traditionally have been divided into multiple distinct syndromes, such as the “common cold,” pharyngitis, croup (laryngotracheobronchitis), tracheitis, bronchiolitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Each of these general categories of illness has a certain epidemiologic and clinical profile; for example, croup occurs exclusively in very young children and has a characteristic clinical course. Some types of respiratory illness are more likely to be associated with certain viruses (e.g., the common cold with rhinoviruses), while others occupy characteristic epidemiologic niches (e.g., adenovirus infections in military recruits). The syndromes most commonly associated with infections with the major respiratory virus groups are summarized in Table 179-1. Most respiratory viruses clearly have the potential to cause more than one type of respiratory illness, and features of several types of illness may be found in the same patient. Moreover, the clinical illnesses induced by these viruses are rarely sufficiently distinctive to permit an etiologic diagnosis on clinical grounds alone, although the epidemiologic setting increases the likelihood that one group of viruses rather than another is involved. In general, laboratory methods must be relied on to establish a specific viral diagnosis.
Table 179-1 Illnesses Associated with Respiratory Viruses
|
Frequency of Respiratory Syndromes |
| Virus |
Most Frequent |
Occasional |
Infrequent |
| Rhinoviruses |
Common cold |
Exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and asthma |
Pneumonia in children |
| Coronaviruses
a
|
Common cold |
Exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and asthma |
Pneumonia and bronchiolitis |
| Human respiratory syncytial virus |
Pneumonia and bronchiolitis in young children |
Common cold in adults |
Pneumonia in elderly and immunosuppressed patients |
| Parainfluenza viruses |
Croup and lower respiratory tract disease in young children |
Pharyngitis and common cold |
Tracheobronchitis in adults; lower respiratory tract disease in immunosuppressed patients |
| Adenoviruses |
Common cold and pharyngitis in children |
Outbreaks of acute respiratory disease in military recruits
b
|
Pneumonia in children; lower respiratory tract and disseminated disease in immunosuppressed patients |
| Influenza A viruses |
Influenza
c
|
Pneumonia and excess mortality in high-risk patients |
Pneumonia in healthy individuals |
| Influenza B viruses |
Influenza
c
|
Rhinitis or pharyngitis alone |
Pneumonia |
| Enteroviruses |
Acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses
d
|
Rhinitis or pharyngitis alone |
Pneumonia |
| Herpes simplex viruses |
Gingivostomatitis in children; pharyngotonsillitis in adults |
Tracheitis and pneumonia in immunocompromised patients |
Disseminated infection in immunocompromised patients |
| Human metapneumoviruses
e
|
Lower respiratory tract disease in children |
Upper respiratory tract illness in adults |
Pneumonia in elderly and immunosuppressed patients |
a
SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) caused epidemics of pneumonia from November 2002 to July 2003 (see text).
b
Serotypes 4 and 7.
c
Fever, cough, myalgia, malaise.
d
May or may not have a respiratory component.
e
Newly recognized human metapneumoviruses cause upper and lower respiratory tract illnesses; their relative frequency is under investigation.
This chapter reviews viral infections caused by six of the major groups of respiratory viruses: rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, respiratory syncytial viruses, metapneumoviruses, parainfluenza viruses, and adenoviruses. The extraordinary outbreaks of lower respiratory tract disease associated with coronaviruses (severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS) in 2002–2003 are also discussed. Influenza viruses, which are a major cause of death as well as morbidity, are reviewed in Chap. 180. Herpesviruses, which occasionally cause pharyngitis and which also cause lower respiratory tract disease in immunosuppressed patients, are reviewed in Chap. 172. Enteroviruses, which account for occasional respiratory illnesses during the summer months, are reviewed in Chap. 184.
The excerpt above is an example of the information available at Harrison's Practice.
For full access, please subscribe today!
Subscribers, log into your account below. |
| About Harrison's Practice Harrison's Practice delivers practical, concise answers to your clinical questions in an innovative and easy-to-navigate format. Available anytime, anywhere on Web, Web Wireless, and PDA, all for one subscription rate! To see a complete, unabridged topic click on any of the Free Topics below: Learn more |
