Comparison of the prevalence of respiratory viruses in patients with acute respiratory infections at different hospital settings in North China, 2012–2015

BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are a great public health challenge globally. The prevalence of respiratory viruses in patients with ARIs attending at different hospital settings is fully undetermined. METHODS: Laboratory-based surveillance for ARIs was conducted at inpatient and outpatient settings of 11 hospitals in North China. The first 2–5 patients with ARIs were recruited in each hospital weekly from 2012 through 2015. The presence of respiratory viruses was screened by PCR assays. The prevalence of respiratory viruses was determined and compared between patients at different hospital settings. RESULTS: A total of 3487 hospitalized cases and 6437 outpatients/Emergency Department (ED) patients were enrolled. The most commonly detected viruses in the hospitalized cases were respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, 33.3%) in children less than two years old, adenoviruses (13.0%) in patients 15–34 years old, and influenza viruses (IFVs, 9.6%) in patients ≥65 years. IFVs were the most common virus in outpatient/ED patients across all age groups (22.7%). After controlling for the confounders caused by other viruses and covariates, adenoviruses (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 3.97, 99% confidence interval [99% CI]: 2.19–7.20) and RSV (aOR: 2.04, 99% CI: 1.34–3.11) were independently associated with increased hospitalization in children, as well as adenoviruses in adults (aOR: 2.14, 99% CI: 1.19–3.85). Additionally, co-infection of RSV with IFVs was associated with increased hospitalization in children (aOR: 12.20, 99% CI: 2.65–56.18). CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of ARIs was associated with respiratory viruses in North China. RSV, adenoviruses, and co-infection of RSV and IFVs were more frequent in hospitalized children (or adenoviruses in adults), which might predict the severity of ARIs. Attending clinicians should be more vigilant of these infections. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-018-2982-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.