Death risk for hospitalized older adults higher with RSV than flu B
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Key takeaways:
- Hospitalized older adults are more likely to die from RSV than influenza B, though the risk is similar for influenza A.
- Improved testing strategies and outreach could lower the risk for death.
Older adults’ risk for death when hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus is higher than it is for influenza B but similar to influenza A, according to a study.
“Historically, RSV infection has not been regarded as severe a disease in adults as influenza, leading to inconsistent testing strategies for RSV,” Clara L. Clausen, PhD, from Amager and Hvidovre Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues wrote in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
“Our findings contribute to the mounting evidence that hospitalizations with RSV infections can be equally, if not more, severe and deadly than influenza, especially among older and frail populations,” they wrote.
In the United States, the CDC recommends that all patients aged 75 years or older — and anyone aged 60 to 74 years with an increased risk for severe disease — get an RSV vaccine.
Clausen and colleagues conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of 988 patients hospitalized with RSV (353), influenza A (347) and influenza B (288) at one of three hospitals between March 2016 and April 2020, according to the study.
More patients with RSV had comorbities (83% vs. 72% vs. 74%) and pneumonia (41% vs. 29% and 24%) compared with influenza A and B, respectively.
The researchers found that RSV was associated with statistically significant higher mortality within 90 days of hospitalization compared with influenza B (OR = 2.16; 95% CI, 1.2-3.87) but not influenza A (OR = 1.38; 95% CI, 0.84-2.29), with higher age and pneumonia also increasing mortality risk.
“This highlights the severity and detrimental effects of RSV, which are similar or worse than that of influenza A and B,” Clausen and colleagues wrote. “The results underscore the potential life-threatening nature of RSV. Harmonizing in-hospital testing strategies, increasing awareness and advocating for targeted RSV vaccinating efforts among high-risk groups and older adults is also important.”
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