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Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Jan:90:170-180.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2019.10.025. Epub 2019 Oct 25.

Systematic review on respiratory syncytial virus epidemiology in adults and the elderly in Latin America

Abraham Ali  1 , Gustavo Lopardo  2 , Bruno Scarpellini  3 , Renato T Stein  4 , Diogo Ribeiro  5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Systematic review on respiratory syncytial virus epidemiology in adults and the elderly in Latin America

Abraham Ali et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: The present study provides a comprehensive review of the recently published data on RSV epidemiology in adults and the elderly in Latin America.

Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out in Medline, Scielo, Lilacs, and Cochrane Library. The search strategy aimed at retrieving studies focusing on RSV prevalence, burden, risk factors, and the routine clinical practice in the prevention and management of RSV infections in Latin American countries. Only articles published between January 2011 and December 2017 were considered.

Results: Eighteen studies were included. Percentages of RSV detection varied highly across included studies for adult subjects with respiratory infections (0% to 77.9%), influenza-like illness (1.0% to 16.4%) and community-acquired pneumonia (1.3% to 13.5%). Considerable percentages of hospitalization were reported for RSV-infected adults with influenza-like illness (40.9% and 69.9%) and community-acquired pneumonia (91.7%).

Conclusions: Recent RSV data regarding adult populations in Latin America are scarce. RSV was documented as a cause of illness in adults and the elderly, being identified in patients with acute respiratory infections, influenza-like illness and community-acquired pneumonia. The studies suggest that RSV infections may be a significant cause of hospitalization in adult populations in Latin America, including younger adults.

Keywords: Adults; Burden; Latin America; Respiratory Syncytial Virus; Upper respiratory tract infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

Abraham Ali has no conflicts of interest to declare. Gustavo Lopardo participated in an Advisory Board regarding RSV promoted by Janssen. Bruno Scarpellini is a Janssen employee. Renato T. Stein participated in Advisory Boards regarding RSV promoted by Janssen, Astra Zeneca and Novavax. Diogo Ribeiro is an employee of CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting Services. This company received honoraria from the funder of this project for support in the planning, literature search, data extraction and draft of the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of literature search: Modified from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement flow diagram (N being the number of studies).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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