@article{LuZengChenetal.2013, author = {Lu, Yong-Ping and Zeng, De-Ying and Chen, You-Peng and Liang, Xu-Jing and Xu, Jie-Ping and Huang, Si-Min and Lai, Zhi-Wei and Wen, Wang-Rong and von Websky, Karoline and Hocher, Berthold}, title = {Low birth weight is associated with lower respiratory tract infections in children with hand, foot, and mouth disease}, series = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, volume = {59}, journal = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, number = {9-10}, publisher = {Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1433-6510}, doi = {10.7754/Clin.Lab.2012.120725}, pages = {985 -- 992}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background: Low birth weight (LBW) might be a risk factor for acquiring lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) associated with disease related complications in early childhood. HFMD, a frequent viral infection in southern China, is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children. We analyzed whether LBW is a risk factor for children with HFMD to develop lower respiratory tract infections. Methods: A total of 298 children with HFMD, admitted to a hospital in Qingyuan city, Guangdong province, were recruited. Demographic data and clinical parameters such as serum glucose level and inflammatory markers including peripheral white blood cell count, serum C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were routinely collected on admission. Birth weight data were derived from birth records. Results: Mean birth weight (BW) was 167 g lower in patients with HFMD and LRTIs as compared to patients with solely HFMD (p = 0.022) and the frequency of birth weight below the tenth percentile was significantly higher in patients with HFMD and LRTIs (p = 0.002). Conclusions: The results of the study show that low birth weight is associated with a higher incidence of lower respiratory tract infections in young children with HFMD.}, language = {en} }