العدوى البكتيرية التنفسية التي تؤثر على الربو عند الأطفال: الارتباط بالشدة والسيطرة

Respiratory bacterial infection influencing pediatric asthma: correlation to severity and control

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. Respiratory infections significantly impact the management and prognosis of pediatric asthma, often triggering exacerbations and complicating treatment regimens. This study aims to evaluate the association between bacterial respiratory infection with asthma severity, and control.
This is a cross-sectional study analyzed data from 100 asthma patients aged 5-16 years at the karbala hospital for teaching children, And AI- Imam AL-Hussein Teaching Medical City. The data were collected from first of October \2023\ to 30 Th of May (2024). Sample Collection contained sputum and cough samples collected after patients rinsed their mouths with saline or water and samples were transported immediately to the laboratory. To identify the bacteria, they are inoculated on a variety of media (aerobic) including trypticase soy agar, 5% sheep blood agar, Mac Con Key agar, and The Mannitol salt agar. The cultures were then incubated for a full night at 37°C; if no growth is seen, the cultures ware reincubated for a further 24 hours and the VITEK2 compact system was used to identify the bacterial isolates. For statistical analysis, data were loaded into the statistical suite for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results of this study showed the majority (57%) of asthma patients were aged 5-8 years, with significant differences noted (p=0.0001). A significant majority were male (69%) compared to female (31%) (p=0.0001). Clinical Characteristics of Asthma Patients: A history of COVID-19 infection was negative in 85%. A large percentage of patients (77%) had comorbidities such as sinusitis, rhinitis & gastroesophageal reflux(p=0.0001) with 95% having been using inhaled corticosteroids for more than 3 years.
Bacterial Culture Results: Streptococcus pneumoniaee was the most isolated pathogen (11%). Significant differences in lymphocytesocyte and total IgE levels based on bacterial growth, with the highest concentrations seen in patients with Staphylococcus aureus. There was also a high significant association between poor asthma control and the bacterial isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniaeStreptococcus pneumoniaeand Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The present study concluded Gram-negative bacteria were more prominent among respiratory tract infections. Streptococcus pneumoniaee was the most common bacterial isolate. Also a significant association between poor asthma control and the presence of specific bacterial isolates. Laboratory marker as lymphocyte and immunoglobulin E (IgE) was affected by the type of bacterial growth, especially in those with Staphylococcus aureus infections, which may indicate an immune response to these pathogens.