TY - JOUR T1 - Rhinovirus infection and asthma symptoms in a longitudinal cohort of Australian children JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 44 IS - Suppl 58 SP - P1198 AU - Sacha Stelzer-Braid AU - Christiana Willenborg AU - Brett Toelle AU - Frances Garden AU - Adam Jaffe AU - Roxanne Strachan AU - Yvonne Belessis AU - Brian Oliver AU - Helen Reddel AU - Guy Marks AU - William Rawlinson AU - Euan Tovey Y1 - 2014/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P1198.abstract N2 - Aims. Viral infections are the main cause of exacerbations and acute hospital admissions in children with asthma. Little is known about viruses circulating in the community and their impact on day-to-day fluctuation of asthma symptoms.We hypothesised that such infections would be associated with increased symptoms.Methods. 67 children, aged 5-12, with moderate asthma, were recruited from a High Risk Asthma Clinic or Emergency Department. They self-collected nasal wash and exhaled breath samples and recorded asthma and cold symptoms and lung function, twice a week for 10 weeks. The presence of 8 viruses, including human rhinovirus (hRV), was analysed by PCR and sequencing. A mixed model, to account for repeated measures, was used to determine the current and delayed impact of viruses on symptoms and lung function.Results.25.5% of nasal samples and 11.5% of breath samples were hRV positive; only 1.8% were positive for other viruses. With genotyping (56% of positive samples), 58.0% were hRV-A positive, 22.7% were hRV-B positive and 19.2% were hRV-C positive. The presence of hRV in nasal wash, but not in breath, was associated with the presence of symptoms; adjusted odds ratios: cough 2.53 (95%CI 1.62-3.94), wheeze 3.05 (1.89-4.93), self-report fever 2.07 (1.17-3.64) and coryzal symptoms 1.95 (1.14-3.32) over the previous 3-4 days. These associations remained 3-4 days later, but generally not 7 days later.Conclusions:In a 10-week study of children with moderate asthma, the presence of hRV in nasal wash, but not in exhaled breath, was associated with mild worsening of day-to-day cold and asthma symptoms for up to a week.Support: NHMRC Project Grant 633238. ER -