Fatality rates in published reports of RSV hospitalizations among high-risk and otherwise healthy children

Abstract

Objective:To review the fatalities among children hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, and identify factors leading to a fatal outcome.Research design and methods:Review of literature identified from a structured search of PubMed (1966−2009) using the following Medical Subject Headings: respiratory syncytial virus infection; hospitalized; infants; and risk factors. Publications were restricted to: English language; full papers; inclusion of ≥10 subjects; children aged ≤18 years, hospitalization for RSV infection; and deaths reported. Case fatality rates were defined as number of deaths divided by number of children hospitalized for RSV and were calculated for each study.Results:Thirty-six studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Case fatality rates among children hospitalized for RSV ranged from 0 to 33%. In general, studies showed that subgroups of high-risk children (chronic lung disease [CLD] 3.5–23%, congenital heart disease [CHD] 2–37%, and prematurity 0–6.1...