2.2 Data collection and specimen detection
The study participants’ clinical characteristics, including
age, sex, length of stay, season of
hospitalization, pathogen, allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) and
micronutrient levels were collected
from the electronic medical records.
Peripheral blood samples and respiratory specimens were obtained on
admission by trained nurses following standard operating procedures.
Pathogen detections were conducted, including: bacterial cultures
prepared from secretions of lower respiratory tracts; direct
immunofluorescence assay for the virus antibody tests, including
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (ADV), influenza virus
(IV), parainfluenza virus (PIV) and coxsackie virus; and mycoplasma
pneumonia (Mp) IgM tested with ELISA. Mp infection was defined as
seropositivity of Mp IgM in the acute stage.
Five main allergens, namely house dust mite, milk, egg white, shrimp and
crab were evaluated in this study. Serum sIgE was measured by ImmunoCAP,
and concentration ≥ 0.35 IU/ml was considered as positive, otherwise, as
negative19.
The explored micronutrients in our study included vitamin A, B1, B2, B6,
C, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), calcium (Ca) and zinc (Zn).
Vitamins were analyzed with electrochemical detection, while calcium and
zink were determined with atomic absorption spectrometry.