Characterization based on clinical laboratory findings in children found positive for gastroenteritis viruses using rapid diagnostic kits

Abstract

Rotavirus (RV), norovirus (NV) and adenovirus (AV) are the major and important pathogens of childhood gastroenteritis. These antigens are being tested using rapid diagnostic kits at our hospital. The purpose of this study was to characterize on the basis of clinical laboratory findings the groups found to be positive for these antigens using the diagnostic kits. The medical records of patients (aged < 19 years) that were tested with these kits between January 2015 and December 2018 were reviewed, including the results of their clinical laboratory tests. A total of 633 patients (median age, 2 years) were tested for at least one antigen. For RV, out of 563 patients tested, 64 (11.4%) were positive. For NV, 46 (8.8%) out of 524 patients were positive, and for AV, 18 (5.8%) out of 312 patients were positive. In terms of age distribution, antigen-positive patients were mostly less than 3 years old. Seasonal distribution was seen for each virus. RV was identified mostly in spring (peaking in April), and the high season for NV was winter (December and January). We attempted to characterize each antigen-positive group on the basis of their clinical laboratory findings, namely, white blood cell count and CRP, AST, ALT, urea nitrogen, creatinine, glucose and sodium levels. However, the percentages of patients with abnormal values were not significantly different between each antigen-positive group and the antigen-negative group (the group in which none of the three antigens were detected). Our results suggest that it is difficult to characterize each antigen-positive group on the basis of clinical laboratory findings.