Investigation of Viral and Bacterial Agents in Samples Taken from Patients with Suspected Upper Respiratory Tract Infection

Aim: Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) complaints are the most common causes of admission to outpatient clinics and rapid detection by Multiplex-PCR method contributes to the monitoring and control of infection by easily evaluating the etiology of viral and bacterial agents regionally.This study aimed to evaluate the etiology of pathogens with a 24-X viral and bacterial respiratory Multiplex-PCR panel in patients admitted to Kafkas University Health Research and Application Hospital with URTI symptoms between November 2023 and February 2024.Materials and Methods: The presence of viral and bacterial pathogens was analyzed by Multiplex-PCR method in nasopharyngeal swab samples obtained from 100 patients diagnosed with URTI by physical examination such as allergic rhinitis and acute bronchitis.The respiratory panel contained 24 different microorganisms such as SARS CoV-2, Influenza-A/B, Human Rhinovirus/Enterovirus, Human Metapneumovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus A/B, Human Parainfluenza Virus-1/2/3/4, Human Coronavirus 229E/OC43/ NL63/HKU1, Human Parechovirus, Adenovirus, Human Bocavirus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila and Bordotella pertussis.Results: According to the findings, the highest number of applications was in January.Out of 100 patients, 73% (n=73) were positive and 27% (n=27) were negative, the most common viral agent was INF A (n=33, 26.9%) while the most common bacterial agent was S.pneumoniae (n=19, 15.4%).Of 73 positive patients, 38.3% (n=28) had co-infections, 11% (n=8) had only bacterial agents, and 50.7% (n=37) had viral agents.Conclusions: In conclusion, URTI agents were rapidly detected by Multiplex-PCR and their incidence was investigated in this study.Finally, it aims to prevent possible epidemics, unnecessary antibiotic use, mortality and morbidity and to contribute to other academic studies with rapid diagnosis and treatment of URTI infections.