Respiratory Viruses and Otitis Media

Seasonal activity of respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus was strongly correlated with seasonal diagnosis of acute otitis media.

Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common pediatric infections. Bacteria have been thought to cause the majority of cases, but with use of more-sensitive molecular methods, respiratory viruses are being detected with increasing frequency in the middle-ear fluid of children with AOM. Now, using medical records from a large healthcare system in Utah, researchers have analyzed the temporal relationship between circulating respiratory viruses and pediatric ambulatory care visits for AOM.

From 2002 through 2010, 46,460 (48%) of 94,418 nasopharyngeal specimens submitted for viral testing were positive. Also during this period, AOM was diagnosed in 271,268 children who were living in Utah and treated at an Intermountain healthcare facility…

Reviewing Author

Robert S. Baltimore, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsInfectious Diseases in Children

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesMember Committee on Rheumatic Fever, Endocarditis and Kawasaki Disease

Robert S. Baltimore, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsInfectious Diseases in Children

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesMember Committee on Rheumatic Fever, Endocarditis and Kawasaki Disease

Respiratory Viruses and Otitis Media

Topics

Reviewing Author