Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Frequent detection of respiratory agents by multiplex PCR on oropharyngeal samples in Swedish school-attending adolescents

Nilsson, Anna LU ; Persson, Kenneth LU ; Björkman, Per LU orcid ; Brittain-Long, Robin ; Lindh, Magnus ; Andersson, Lars-Magnus and Westin, Johan (2012) In Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases 44(5). p.393-397
Abstract
Background: Respiratory agents may be detected in the oropharynx of healthy individuals. The extent of this condition and the reasons behind it are largely unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with the presence of respiratory agents in the oropharynx of adolescents healthy enough to attend school activities. Methods: On a single day in December, samples from the posterior wall of the oropharynx of adolescents aged 10-15 y were obtained using cotton-tipped swabs. The samples were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of 13 respiratory viruses and 2 bacteria (Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae). Results: Out of the 232 adolescents sampled, 67 (29%) had... (More)
Background: Respiratory agents may be detected in the oropharynx of healthy individuals. The extent of this condition and the reasons behind it are largely unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with the presence of respiratory agents in the oropharynx of adolescents healthy enough to attend school activities. Methods: On a single day in December, samples from the posterior wall of the oropharynx of adolescents aged 10-15 y were obtained using cotton-tipped swabs. The samples were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of 13 respiratory viruses and 2 bacteria (Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae). Results: Out of the 232 adolescents sampled, 67 (29%) had any respiratory symptom. A positive PCR result was found in 50 individuals (22%). Human rhinovirus was the most commonly found agent. Respiratory agents were significantly more frequent in the younger age group (10-13 y) than in the older age group (14-15 y): 26% (38/148) vs 14% (12/84), respectively; p = 0.04. Cough was the only symptom that was more common among individuals with a positive PCR test than among those with a negative PCR test: 8/50 (16%) vs 11/182 (6%); p = 0.02. Family size and class size were not associated with the likelihood of a positive PCR test. Conclusions: The presence of respiratory agents in the oropharynx is a frequent finding among adolescents healthy enough to attend school activities. The high prevalence was found to be associated with young age, but not with the size of the family or class. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
PCR, respiratory viruses, adolescents, respiratory symptoms
in
Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases
volume
44
issue
5
pages
393 - 397
publisher
Informa Healthcare
external identifiers
  • wos:000302735400012
  • scopus:84859751459
  • pmid:22103467
ISSN
1651-1980
DOI
10.3109/00365548.2011.631573
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9c8f6020-2f8c-4ec3-8607-4af4bafdb1af (old id 2570985)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:40:30
date last changed
2022-01-28 01:52:41
@misc{9c8f6020-2f8c-4ec3-8607-4af4bafdb1af,
  abstract     = {{Background: Respiratory agents may be detected in the oropharynx of healthy individuals. The extent of this condition and the reasons behind it are largely unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with the presence of respiratory agents in the oropharynx of adolescents healthy enough to attend school activities. Methods: On a single day in December, samples from the posterior wall of the oropharynx of adolescents aged 10-15 y were obtained using cotton-tipped swabs. The samples were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of 13 respiratory viruses and 2 bacteria (Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae). Results: Out of the 232 adolescents sampled, 67 (29%) had any respiratory symptom. A positive PCR result was found in 50 individuals (22%). Human rhinovirus was the most commonly found agent. Respiratory agents were significantly more frequent in the younger age group (10-13 y) than in the older age group (14-15 y): 26% (38/148) vs 14% (12/84), respectively; p = 0.04. Cough was the only symptom that was more common among individuals with a positive PCR test than among those with a negative PCR test: 8/50 (16%) vs 11/182 (6%); p = 0.02. Family size and class size were not associated with the likelihood of a positive PCR test. Conclusions: The presence of respiratory agents in the oropharynx is a frequent finding among adolescents healthy enough to attend school activities. The high prevalence was found to be associated with young age, but not with the size of the family or class.}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, Anna and Persson, Kenneth and Björkman, Per and Brittain-Long, Robin and Lindh, Magnus and Andersson, Lars-Magnus and Westin, Johan}},
  issn         = {{1651-1980}},
  keywords     = {{PCR; respiratory viruses; adolescents; respiratory symptoms}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{393--397}},
  publisher    = {{Informa Healthcare}},
  series       = {{Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases}},
  title        = {{Frequent detection of respiratory agents by multiplex PCR on oropharyngeal samples in Swedish school-attending adolescents}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00365548.2011.631573}},
  doi          = {{10.3109/00365548.2011.631573}},
  volume       = {{44}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}