Issue: July 2013
June 14, 2013
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RSV-related infections in immunocompromised children resulted in poor outcomes

Issue: July 2013
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Immunocompromised children with respiratory syncytial virus-related infections have an increased risk of poor outcomes, including mortality, according to recent study findings published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

Perspective from H. Cody Meissner, MD

“While mortality rates in healthy infants with RSV pneumonia are less than 0.5%, they can reach up to 60% in untreated immunocompromised children,” researchers wrote.

The retrospective-cohort study included 117 RSV-positive immunocompromised pediatric inpatients. Researchers evaluated community-acquired RSV (CA-RSV) infections and their outcomes compared with nosocomial RSV (N-RSV) infections.

They found that 35.9% of participants presented with N-RSV infection. More than one-third of participants also had a lower respiratory tract infection; of those, 28% were admitted to the ICU, and there was a 5% mortality rate. Participants who died were all diagnosed with CA-RSV lower respiratory tract infection at hospital admission, and RSV was still detectable after death from respiratory samples or post-mortem lung biopsy.

There was advanced evidence of lower tract disease with respiratory distress in participants with CA-RSV (OR=2.5; 95% CI, 1.1-5.6) compared with those with N-RSV. Participants with CA-RSV were also less likely to have prolonged hospital admission (OR=0.7; 95% CI, 0.5-0.8).

“Differences in mortality rates among those with CA-RSV compared with N-RSV warrant further study, with enhanced opportunities for prevention and early detection of infection,” researchers wrote.

Disclosure: The study was funded in part by Abbott Laboratories, Canada, and the division of infectious diseases at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.