Symptoms of respiratory syncytial infection

The incubation period of respiratory syncytial infection lasts from 3 to 7 days. Clinical manifestations of the disease depend on the age of the children.

In older children, respiratory syncytial infection usually proceeds easily, according to the type of acute catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, often without an increase in body temperature or with a subfebrile temperature. The general condition worsens insignificantly, there is a slight headache, mild cognition, weakness. The leading clinical symptom is a cough, usually dry, persistent, prolonged. Breathing is rapid, with a hard exhalation, sometimes with suffocation. Children sometimes complain of pain behind the sternum. When examined, their general condition is satisfactory. Pallor and small pastosity of the face, injection of vessels of the sclera, scanty discharge from the nose are noted. The mucous membrane of the throat is weakly hyperemic or unchanged. Breathing is hard, dry and damp rales are scattered. In some cases, the liver is enlarged. The course of the disease up to 2-3 weeks.

In children of the first year of life, a respiratory syncytial infection can begin both acutely and gradually. The body temperature rises, nasal congestion, sneezing and dry cough occur. Objectively, in the initial period, only a slight deterioration in the general condition can be noted, pallor of the skin, scanty discharge from the nose, insignificant hyperemia of the mucous membranes of the front arches, posterior pharyngeal wall, scleritis. In the future, the symptoms are growing, indicating more involvement in the lower respiratory tract, a picture of the bronchiolitis appears. The cough becomes paroxysmal, prolonged, at the end of an attack it is difficult to separate a thick, viscous sputum. Sometimes coughing attacks are accompanied by vomiting, appetite is lowered, sleep is disturbed. Disease in this period in some patients may resemble whooping cough.

In severe cases, the phenomena of respiratory failure are rapidly increasing. At the same time, breathing becomes more frequent, it becomes noisy, expiratory dyspnea occurs with retraction of the compliant places of the thorax. There are cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle, swelling of the wings of the nose. Percutaneously determined boxed sound, auscultation hears a lot of creping and finely bubbling wet wheezing. Body temperature in this period is often increased, but can be normal, symptoms of intoxication are not expressed. The severity of the condition of the child is due to respiratory failure. Often the liver is enlarged, the edge of the spleen is sometimes palpable.

Of the other clinical syndromes with respiratory syncytial infection, obstructive syndrome and, rarely, croup syndrome are noted. Usually, both of these syndromes develop simultaneously with bronchitis.

On the roentgenogram, emphysema of the lungs, expansion of the chest. Flattening of the dome of the diaphragm and horizontal position of the ribs, strengthening of the pulmonary pattern, the stiffness of the roots. There is an enlarged lymph node. Possible defeat of individual segments and the development of atelectasis.

In the peripheral blood, the number of leukocytes is normal or slightly elevated, the neutrophil shift to the left, there is an increase in the number of monocytes and atypical lymphomonocytes (up to 5%), the ESR is slightly increased.

The course of respiratory syncytial infection depends on the severity of clinical manifestations, the age of children and the layering of bacterial infection. In mild cases, the symptoms of bronchiolitis disappear rather quickly - after 3-8 days. With pneumonia, the course of the disease lasts for up to 2-3 weeks.

Complications are caused mainly by stratified bacterial infection. Otitis, sinusitis, pneumonia are more common.

Respiratory syncytial infection in newborns and premature infants. The disease begins gradually at normal body temperature, nasal congestion, persistent paroxysmal cough, periodic cyanosis, rapidly growing signs of oxygen starvation, often vomiting. Because of the impossibility of nasal breathing, the general condition suffers: anxiety, sleep disorder, the child refuses to breast. Rapidly developing pneumonia. The number of breaths reaches 80-100 / min, there is a tachycardia. In the lungs inflammatory focal infiltration and atelectasis are found. There are leukocytosis, elevated ESR. The flow is long. The occurrence of complications is due to the stratification of bacterial infection, which worsens the prognosis.

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