RVs are responsible for a range of severe human illnesses including acute exacerbations of lower airways diseases such as asthma (Johnston et al, 1995, 2005).
Similar risk factors for one versus no exacerbation, albeit of lower magnitude, were observed as for the risk of frequent versus no exacerbations.
Acute respiratory illness (ARI) is a leading cause of morbidity across all demographic and socioeconomic strata worldwide and the primary trigger for exacerbations of chronic lower airway diseases including asthma [ 1, 2].
Patients had been free of exacerbation and lower respiratory tract infection for a minimum period of 6 weeks prior to randomization.
Early attempts at vaccinating children against RSV infection using a formalin inactivated virus resulted in a dramatic aggravation of disease, linked to the exacerbation of inflammatory reactions in the lower respiratory tract.
We monitored withdrawals and deaths before admission with an exacerbation of COPD, which proved considerably lower than our estimates, enabling us to stop recruitment at 128 participants in each group.
Therefore, one would expect airway inflammation induced by colonization to be of lower intensity than that observed during an exacerbation.
We also excluded children with an acute exacerbation of a primary pulmonary condition (including lower tract respiratory infections), metabolic (including dehydration) or neurological disease potentially interfering with respiratory rate, "immediate" triage urgency according to the Manchester triage system, or a chronic disease (requiring at least two hospital visits per year).
The more adherent patients required fewer visits to the health centre and had fewer exacerbations, a lower number of devices, a lower level of severity, and a lower impact on daily activities, but with a higher disease impact.
