Pediatric RSV infection and respiratory coinfections: Is a link related to clinical severity? Single center retrospective study

Purpose

The aim of the study was to assess whether there was a difference in terms of severity in paediatric patients assessed for respiratory symptoms in paediatric emergency departments between those who tested positive for RSV and those who presented with viral co-infections in addition to RSV. It was also assessed whether there was a difference between the two groups in terms of need for hospitalisation and ventilation.

Methods

This is a single center study from October 2022 to February 2023, compared two groups of patients: those infected with RSV and those coinfected with RSV and other viruses. Parameters examined included the severity of illness, as measured by the Clinical Respiratory Score (CRS), the need for and duration of hospitalization, and the need for ventilation via high flow nasal cannula (HFNC).

Results

The correlation with disease severity assessed by CRS in the two groups with RSV only and coinfection was not statistically significant (p-value 0.281). The correlation in the two groups between the need for hospitalization (p-value 1) and the need for ventilation (p-value 0.302) was also not significant. No significant correlation was found between the age of patients and CRS (R = −0.26, p = 0.119) and the age of patients and days of hospitalization (R = −0.013, p = 0.938).

Conclusion

These findings highlight the importance of careful management of RSV infections in children. Despite the limitations, the lack of significant differences in disease severity indicates the need to explore additional preventive strategies, such as RSV vaccination, to improve the clinical approach.