Recurrent wheezing and asthma after bocavirus bronchiolitis

BackgroundHuman bocavirus (HBoV) was recently discovered and identified as an important cause of respiratory infection in young children. However, the relationship between HBoV-bronchiolitis and the development of recurrent wheezing has not yet been established.ObjectiveWe designed this study in order to describe the mid-term outcome, regarding the development of recurrent wheezing and asthma of HBoV-bronchiolitis patients and to compare it with RSV-bronchiolitis infants.MethodsWe studied 80 children (10 with HBoV and 70 with RSV infection), currently aged ≥4 years and previously hospitalised during the seasons 2004–2009 due to acute bronchiolitis. Epidemiological and clinical data were collected through structured clinical interviews at the follow-up visit. Spirometry and skin prick tests to common food and inhaled allergens were performed.ResultsAll HBoV-patients developed recurrent wheezing and half of them had asthma at age 5–7 years. Almost 30% required hospital admission for recurrent wheezing. Asthma (odds ratio (OR) = 1.28) and current asthma (OR = 2.18) were significantly more frequent in children with HBoV-bronchiolitis than in RSV-bronchiolitis. FEV1 values were 99.2 ± 4.8 in HBoV-group vs. 103 ± 11 in RSV-group, p: 0.09. No differences were found with respect to allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, proportion of positive prick tests, and family history of atopy or asthma.ConclusionsSevere HBoV-bronchiolitis in infancy was strongly associated with asthma at 5–7 years.