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Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2022; 43(01): 060-074
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1740982
Review Article

Severe Infections Due to Respiratory Viruses

Authors

  • Catia Cillóniz

    1   Department of Pneumology, Institut Clinic del Tórax, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona—Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona (UB), Ciber de Enfermedades Respiratorias (Ciberes), Barcelona, Spain

  • Juan M. Pericàs

    2   Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
    3   Internal Medicine Department, Vall d'Hebron Institute for Research, Barcelona, Spain

  • Jorge R. Rojas

    4   Department of Pneumology, Hospital Regional Docente Clínico Quirúrgico Daniel Alcides Carrión, Huancayo, Perú

  • Antoni Torres

    1   Department of Pneumology, Institut Clinic del Tórax, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona—Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona (UB), Ciber de Enfermedades Respiratorias (Ciberes), Barcelona, Spain

Funding This study was supported by CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES CB06/06/0028), and by 2009 Support to Research Groups of Catalonia 911; IDIBAPS. Dr Cillóniz is the recipient of the SEPAR fellowship 2018, and a grant from the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PI19/00207).
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Abstract

Severe viral infections may result in severe illnesses capable of causing acute respiratory failure that could progress rapidly to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), related to worse outcomes, especially in individuals with a higher risk of infection, including the elderly and those with comorbidities such as asthma, diabetes mellitus and chronic respiratory or cardiovascular disease. In addition, in cases of severe viral pneumonia, co-infection with bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus is related to worse outcomes. Respiratory viruses like influenza, rhinovirus, parainfluenza, adenovirus, metapneumovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and coronavirus have increasingly been detected. This trend has become more prevalent, especially in critically ill patients, due to the availability and implementation of molecular assays in clinical practice. Respiratory viruses have been diagnosed as a frequent cause of severe pneumonia, including cases of community-acquired pneumonia, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and ventilator-associated pneumonia. In this review, we will discuss the epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical characteristics, management, and prognosis of patients with severe infections due to respiratory viruses, with a focus on influenza viruses, non-influenza viruses, and coronaviruses.

Keywords

respiratory viruses - severe infection - viral pneumonia - viruses


Publication History

Article published online:
16 February 2022

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