[Adenovirus infections in an emergency department]

We have reviewed 108 emergency ward reports of patients with adenoviral positive cultures in "Doce de Octubre" Hospital in Madrid. Our aim was to know the most frequent symptoms of the infection so that identification and treatment could be managed more efficiently in our department. Cellular cultures were negative for other viruses such as CMV, enterovirus and herpesvirus. No bacteria were found in the throat cultures. Of the children who were evaluated, 78% were younger than 3 years old. The most frequent symptom was high fever with an otherwise good state of health. During the physical examination, a reddened throat with an exudate was found in half of the patients. A white blood cell count of over 15,000 was found in 33% of the patients with a left shift in 20%. The clinical findings overlapped with throat bacterial infections in 66%, lower respiratory infections in 14%, and more unusual, gastroenteritis, hematuria, intestinal invagination or exanthemas. Only 15% were not given antibiotic therapy.