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Background and Aims: A properly validated scoring system allowing objective categorization of infants with acute respiratory infections (ARIs), avoiding the need for in-person assessment and that could also be used by non-health professionals is currently not available. We aimed to develop a new clinical assessment scale meeting these specifications., Methods: We designed a clinical scale (ReSVinet scale) based on seven parameters (feeding intolerance, medical intervention, respiratory difficulty, respiratory frequency, apnoea, general condition, fever) that were assigned different values (from 0 to 3) for a total of 20 points.170 children under two years of age with ARI were assessed independently by three pediatricians using this scale. Parents also evaluated their offspring with an adapted version of the scale in a subset of 61 cases. The scale was tested for internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), Pearson correlation coefficient for the items in the scale, inter-observer reliability (kappa index) and floor-ceiling effect., Results: Internal consistency was good for all the observers, with the lowest Cronbach's alpha being 0.72. There was a strong correlation between the investigators (r-value ranged 0.76-0.83) and also between the results obtained by the parents and the investigators(r = 0.73). Light's kappa for the observations of the three investigators was 0.74. Weighted kappa in the group evaluated by the parents was 0.73. The final score was correlated with length of hospital stay, PICU admission and Wood-Downes Score., Conclusions: The ReSVinet scale may be useful and reliable in the evaluation of infants with ARI, particularly acute bronchiolitis, even with data obtained from medical records and when employed by parents. Although further studies are necessary, ReSVinet scale already complies with more score validation criteria than the vast majority of the alternatives currently available and used in the clinical practice.

Introduction: Vaccination against rotavirus has led to a significant decline of the disease. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological features of the viral acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in an area with high immunization coverage against rotavirus., Method: A prospective microbiological evaluation was made of stool culture and Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) to gastroenteric virus and genotyping of rotavirus strains in < 5 year-old with AGE episodes attended by or admitted to our hospital from November-March of 2009-2010 and 2010-2011., Results: A total of 51 patients were included, with a mean age (standard deviation) of 19.1 (13.9) months. Stool culture was negative in 23 samples (45% of the samples analyzed), and it was identified a responsible microorganism in 70% by the RT-PCR (16 samples). Rotavirus was the most common isolated microorganism (53%), and G1[P8] the most frequent genotype. A co-infection was detected in 14% of samples (7 patients), and rotavirus and astrovirus were the most frequent etiological agents involved., Conclusions: Rotavirus, basically G1[P8], is the most common AGE responsible agent identified in our study. The use of RT-PCR enhances the AGE diagnostic sensitivity, and uncovers an important number of viral co-infections., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. y Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.)