Respiratory Infections News

New data suggest that respiratory syncytial virus may be returning to its pre-COVID-19 seasonality — a winter peak — which could help determine when people should be vaccinated against it, researchers said.

Treatment with a monoclonal antibody within 2 days of a COVID-19 diagnosis reduced the risk for hospitalization or death by almost 40%, according to a study that assessed patient outcomes over a nearly 2-year period.

A high risk for in-hospital mortality, ICU admittance and mechanical ventilation was found in patients with COVID-19 plus a community-acquired bacterial infection, according to study results published in Critical Care.

Vaccinating older adults for respiratory syncytial virus could reduce the burden of disease by millions, according to approximations made by a disease transmission model.

Pediatric asthma diagnoses decreased by more than 50% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings published in Respiratory Research.

The medical world has to overcome the perception that children are not susceptible to long COVID, physicians said during a U.S. News and World Report webinar on the topic.

SEATTLE —SARS-CoV-2 viral loads were more than four times lower among participants in a phase 3 trial who received the diabetes drug metformin than among those who received placebo, according to findings presented at a medical conference.

A survey assessing universal masking showed nearly all facilities represented planned to continue doing so, with the most common reasons being prevention of respiratory viruses and limiting the impact on staff.

There has been a rebound in cases of tuberculosis in the United States, according to the CDC, with the largest increase occurring among children aged 4 years or younger.

People with severe community-acquired pneumonia who were treated with hydrocortisone had a lower risk for death 28 days after diagnosis compared with those who received placebo, a phase 3 trial found.