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
Comparative Study
. 2024 Nov 15;230(5):1130-1138.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiae171.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus vs Influenza Virus Infection: Mortality and Morbidity Comparison Over 7 Epidemic Seasons in an Elderly Population

Caryn Giselle Recto  1 , Slim Fourati  2 , Mehdi Khellaf  3 , Jean-Michel Pawlotsky  2 , Nicolas De Prost  4   5 , Hadrien Diakonoff  6 , Cristiano Donadio  7 , Lydia Pouga  2 , Christian de Tymowski  8 , Christian Kassasseya  3
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Respiratory Syncytial Virus vs Influenza Virus Infection: Mortality and Morbidity Comparison Over 7 Epidemic Seasons in an Elderly Population

Caryn Giselle Recto et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is gaining interest due to the recent development of vaccines but is still misdiagnosed in the elderly. The primary objective was to compare all-cause mortality at day 30. Secondary objectives were to compare clinical presentation and rates of consolidative pneumonia, hospitalization, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission.

Methods: A single-center retrospective study was conducted in a French university hospital during 7 epidemic seasons including 558 patients aged ≥75 years: 125 with RSV and 433 with influenza (median age, 84.8 years).

Results: Patients with RSV had more respiratory symptoms (wheezing, dyspnea) whereas patients with influenza had more general symptoms (fever, asthenia, myalgia). The following were higher in the RSV group: consolidative pneumonia (28.8% vs 17.2%, P = .004), hospitalization (83.2% vs 70%, P = .003), ICU admission (7.2% vs 3.0%, P = .034), and length of stay (median [IQR], 9 days [2-16] vs 5 days [0-12]; P = .002). Mortality rates at day 30 were comparable (9.6% vs 9.7%, P = .973).

Conclusions: This study included the largest cohort of patients infected with RSV aged >75 years documented in-depth thus far. RSV shares a comparable mortality rate with influenza but is associated with higher rates of consolidative pneumonia, hospitalization, ICU admissions, and extended hospital stays.

Keywords: elderly; influenza virus; lower tract respiratory infection; mortality; respiratory syncytial virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. Authors C. Recto, H. Diakonoff, C. Donadio, L. Pouga, C. de Tymowski, and C. Kassasseya declare no conflicts of interest. S. Fourati received consulting fees from Spikimm, AstraZeneca, GSK, Pfizer, Moderna, and Cepheid, and has received lecture fees from AstraZeneca, GSK, Pfizer, Moderna, and Cepheid. J-M. Pawlotsky received consulting fees from Abbott, AbbVie, and GSK, and has received lecture fees from AbbVie and Gilead. N. de Prost received consulting fees from AstraZeneca, and has received lecture fees from Moderna. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

Publication types