Study Examines Burden Of RSV-Associated Hospitalizations In US Adults

MedPage Today (11/13, Kahn) reports that “in the years before the introduction of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, the virus was linked with substantial hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and in-hospital deaths among adults, according to a cross-sectional analysis of CDC data” published in JAMA Network Open. An “adjusted analysis showed estimated RSV-associated hospitalization rates ranging from 48.9 per 100,000 adults during the 2016-2017 respiratory season to 76.2 per 100,000 in 2017-2018.” Meanwhile, “annual estimates of RSV-associated ICU admissions ranged from 24,400 to 34,900 for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons, respectively, while estimated annual in-hospital deaths ranged from 4,680 in 2018-2019 to 8,620 in 2017-2018.” Researchers noted RSV severity “appeared to be comparable to or possibly more than the severity of influenza and SARS-CoV-2” in hospitalized adults.