Cases recovered from a HRV-associated LRTI also showed no significant differences in overall microbial composition compared to controls (R 2 0.008, p=0.165), though they had a slightly higher microbial richness upon recovery, which tended towards significance (p=0.070) ( figure S7c ).
Furthermore, only (former) wheezing illness cases still showed a trend towards a different overall microbial community composition at follow-up compared with their respective controls (R 2 0.023, p=0.072) ( figure 3 ).
However, when age, LRTI phenotype and antibiotic treatment were included in a multivariable model as predictors of recurrence, we found a borderline significant, independent association between a diagnosis of wheezing illness and an increased rate of subsequent recurrence of respiratory symptoms (β 1.19 compared to pneumonia, 95% CI −0.097–2.54; p=0.074).