A High Copy Number from a Pharyngeal Swab Is Not Associated with Different Presenting Features in 100 Children with Acute Adenovirus Infection from a Cluster in Italy.

Human mastadenoviruses, frequently denominated adenoviruses (HAdVs), may cause respiratory tract, gastrointestinal or, less frequently, other involvements. Epidemics of HAdV infections occur globally, in communities, and in closed or crowded settings. In our institution, a cluster of infants and children admitted for HAdV infection was recently observed. The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of their presenting features and investigate the possible correlation between the HAdV copy number and the clinical picture. Two main patterns of clinical presentation were observed: 68 patients had mainly respiratory symptoms (pharyngitis n = 67, cough n = 44; tonsillar exudate n = 17; other respiratory signs n = 4) while 26 patients showed prevalent gastrointestinal involvement (diarrhea n = 26, vomiting n = 8). Patients with respiratory symptoms had a significantly higher count of WBC, PMN, and platelets, while CRP level approached statistical significance (