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Fewer Synagis doses maintain RSV protection for infants
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An abbreviated regimen of Synagis effectively protected at-risk infants against respiratory syncytial virus hospitalization, according to data in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.
“The AAP recommends a maximum of five [palivizumab (Synagis, MedImmune)] doses in selected risk groups during the [respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)] season, although pharmacokinetic analyses suggest that equivalent antibody protection may be sustainably achieved with fewer doses,” Pascal M. Lavoie, MDCM, PhD, FRCPC, of the Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia, and colleagues wrote.
The researchers studied 1,180 infants at high risk for RSV from the British Columbia RSV Immunoprophylaxis Program between 2010 and 2014. The study was divided into two cohorts: infants in one group (n = 514) received 15 mg/kg palivizumab three times per RSV season for 4 seasons, and infants in the other group (n = 666) received 15 mg/kg palivizumab four times per RSV season for 2 seasons.
Results showed that two infants in the three-dose group were hospitalized with RSV, and 12 infants in the four-dose group were hospitalized with RSV during the study period. The researchers said these results were comparable to previous cohorts treated with the recommended five doses of palivizumab.
Lavoie and colleagues also found that protective neutralizing antibody levels continued after the RSV season concluded.
“The costliness of this drug restrains its broader use,” Lavoie and colleagues wrote. “These data have considerable resource implications for RSV prevention in other medical jurisdictions.” – by David Costill
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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