Older Adults’ Risk For Death When Hospitalized With RSV Higher Than For Influenza B, Study Finds

Healio (9/27, Feller) reports, “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.” Researchers “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,” and they “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.” The findings were published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.