Cited 1 times since 2021 (0.3 per year) source: EuropePMC Pediatric critical care medicine : a journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies, Volume 22, Issue 1, 1 1 2021, Pages e79-e90 Rhinovirus Detection in the Nasopharynx of Children Undergoing Cardiac Surgery Is Not Associated With Longer PICU Length of Stay: Results of the Impact of Rhinovirus Infection After Cardiac Surgery in Kids (RISK) Study. Roeleveld PP, Van Rijn AL, de Wilde RBP, van Zwet EW, Wink J, Rozendaal L, Hogenbirk K, Hazekamp MG, Man WH, Sidorov I, Kraakman MEM, Claas ECJ, de Jonge E, Kroes ACM, de Vries JJC

Objectives

To determine whether children with asymptomatic carriage of rhinovirus in the nasopharynx before elective cardiac surgery have an increased risk of prolonged PICU length of stay.

Study design

Prospective, single-center, blinded observational cohort study.

Setting

PICU in a tertiary hospital in The Netherlands.

Patients

Children under 12 years old undergoing elective cardiac surgery were enrolled in the study after informed consent of the parents/guardians.

Interventions

The parents/guardians filled out a questionnaire regarding respiratory symptoms. On the day of the operation, a nasopharyngeal swab was obtained. Clinical data were collected during PICU admission, and PICU/hospital length of stay were reported. If a patient was still intubated 3 days after operation, an additional nasopharyngeal swab was collected. Nasopharyngeal swabs were tested for rhinovirus and other respiratory viruses with polymerase chain reaction.

Measurements and main results

Of the 163 included children, 74 (45%) tested rhinovirus positive. Rhinovirus-positive patients did not have a prolonged PICU length of stay (median 2 d each; p = 0.257). Rhinovirus-positive patients had a significantly shorter median hospital length of stay compared with rhinovirus-negative patients (8 vs 9 d, respectively; p = 0.006). Overall, 97 of the patients (60%) tested positive for one or more respiratory virus. Virus-positive patients had significantly shorter PICU and hospital length of stay, ventilatory support, and nonmechanical ventilation. Virus-negative patients had respiratory symptoms suspected for a respiratory infection more often. In 31% of the children, the parents reported mild upper respiratory complaints a day prior to the cardiac surgery, this was associated with postextubation stridor, but no other clinical outcome measures.

Conclusions

Preoperative rhinovirus polymerase chain reaction positivity is not associated with prolonged PICU length of stay. Our findings do not support the use of routine polymerase chain reaction testing for respiratory viruses in asymptomatic children admitted for elective cardiac surgery.

Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2021 1;22(1):e79-e90