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. 2021 Mar 1;5(1):e000985.
doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000985. eCollection 2021.

Palivizumab reimbursement criteria and neonatal RSV hospitalisation: a regional retrospective review

Valeria Belleudi  1 , Federico Marchetti  2 , Marco Finocchietti  1 , Marina Davoli  1 , Antonio Addis  1
Affiliations

Palivizumab reimbursement criteria and neonatal RSV hospitalisation: a regional retrospective review

Valeria Belleudi et al. BMJ Paediatr Open. .

Abstract

In Italy, reimbursement restrictions regarding palivizumab prophylaxis approved in 2016 have been revoked in 2017, restoring use in infants with Gestational Age (GA) >29 weeks. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) hospitalisations and prevalence of palivizumab use in infants aged <6 months during five seasons (2014-2019), were considered according to different GA. Although RSV hospitalisations rate showed no significant changes, during different seasons in all GA, lower prevalence of palivizumab use in 2016 (0.8% vs 0.3%), returned to a higher level following the revoke of restrictions. Changes in reimbursement criteria were not associated with neonatal RSV hospitalisations rate but with a significant impact on palivizumab use.

Keywords: neonatology; pharmacology; therapeutics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hospitalisations per 100 infants for infection by the RSV (bar plot) and ORV (circle plot) according to gestational age before, during and after implementation/revoke of reimbursement AIFA-2016 limitations. AIFA, Italian Medicines Agency; ORV, Other Respiratory Virus; RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of palivizumab use according to gestational age before, during and after implementation/revoke of reimbursement AIFA-2016 limitations. AIFA, Italian Medicines Agency.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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