Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jan 9;4(1):ofw270.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofw270. eCollection 2017 Winter.

Hospitalizations for Respiratory Syncytial Virus Among Adults in the United States, 1997-2012

Susan T Pastula  1 , Judith Hackett  2 , Jenna Coalson  1 , Xiaohui Jiang  1 , Tonya Villafana  2 , Christopher Ambrose  2 , Jon Fryzek  1
Affiliations

Hospitalizations for Respiratory Syncytial Virus Among Adults in the United States, 1997-2012

Susan T Pastula et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an established cause of serious lower respiratory disease in children, but the burden in adults is less well studied.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of hospitalizations among adults ≥20 years from the 1997-2012 National Inpatient Sample. Trends in RSV admissions were described relative to unspecified viral pneumonia admissions. Hospitalization severity indicators were compared among immunocompromised RSV, non-immunocompromised RSV, and influenza admissions.

Results: An estimated 28237 adult RSV hospitalizations occurred, compared with 652818 influenza hospitalizations; 34% were immunocompromised individuals. Respiratory syncytial virus and influenza patients had similar age, gender, and race distributions, but RSV was more often diagnosed in urban teaching hospitals (73.0% for RSV vs 34.6% for influenza) and large hospitals (71.9% vs 56.4%). Respiratory syncytial virus hospitalization rates increased from 1997 to 2012, particularly for those ≥60, increasing from 0.5 to 4.6 per 100000, whereas unspecified pneumonia admission rates decreased significantly (P < .001). Immunocompromised patients with RSV hospitalization had significantly higher inpatient mortality (P = .013), use of mechanical ventilation (P = .016), mean length of stay (LOS) (P < .001), and mean cost (P < .001) than non-immunocompromised RSV hospitalizations. Overall, RSV hospitalizations were more severe than influenza hospitalizations (6.2% mortality for RSV vs 3.0% for influenza, 16.7% vs 7.2% mechanical ventilation, mean LOS of 6.0 vs 3.6 days, and mean cost of $38828 vs $14519).

Conclusions: Respiratory syncytial virus hospitalizations in adults are increasing, likely due to increasing recognition and diagnosis. The burden of RSV in adults deserves attention. Although there are fewer hospitalizations than influenza, those that are diagnosed are on average more severe.

Keywords: adult; hospitalizations; respiratory syncytial virus..

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Trends in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalization rates by year and age group, 1997–2012.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Trends in pneumonia, virus unspecified ([unspec.] International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification 480.9) by year and age group, 1997–2012.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Falsey AR, Walsh EE. Respiratory syncytial virus infection in adults. Clin Microbiol Rev 2000; 13:371–84. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Falsey AR, Hennessey PA, Formica MA, et al. Respiratory syncytial virus infection in elderly and high-risk adults. N Engl J Med 2005; 352:1749–59. - PubMed
    1. Falsey AR, McElhaney JE, Beran J, et al. Respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory viral infections in older adults with moderate to severe influenza-like illness. J Infect Dis 2014; 209:1873–81. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Branche AR, Falsey AR. Respiratory syncytial virus infection in older adults: an under-recognized problem. Drugs Aging 2015; 32:261–9. - PubMed
    1. McManus TE, Marley AM, Baxter N, et al. Respiratory viral infection in exacerbations of COPD. Respir Med 2008; 102:1575–80. - PMC - PubMed