Ethical considerations
Since the data was obtained from secondary sources (clinical records), and from the respiratory samples directly from the clinical laboratory, no procedure or intervention was performed with the patients, so the risk was considered minimal. Informed consent was not required and patient confidentiality will be safeguarded.
The present study was carried out in accordance with the Helsinki declaration and international good practices, preserving the complete confidentiality of all the information, it will be protected and will be available only to researchers using identification codes.