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Auricular Acupressure as an Adjuvant Treatment for Wheezing in Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
02:34

Auricular Acupressure as an Adjuvant Treatment for Wheezing in Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Published on: May 10, 2024

Palivizumab prophylaxis, respiratory syncytial virus, and subsequent recurrent wheezing

Eric A F Simoes1, Jessie R Groothuis, Xavier Carbonell-Estrany

  • 1Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Children's Hospital, Denver, CO 80218, USA. eric.simoes@uchsc.edu

The Journal of Pediatrics
|June 26, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Palivizumab, an antibody that prevents respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), was found to significantly reduce recurrent wheezing in preterm infants. This suggests palivizumab may decrease the risk of developing recurrent wheezing after early RSV LRTI.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Infants experiencing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) early in life are at high risk for subsequent recurrent wheezing.
  • Palivizumab, a monoclonal antibody, demonstrates high efficacy in preventing RSV hospitalization in premature infants.
  • The potential of palivizumab to mitigate later recurrent wheezing by preventing or ameliorating early RSV LRTI in preterm infants warrants investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether palivizumab administration in preterm infants reduces the incidence of recurrent wheezing.
  • To determine if preventing RSV LRTI with palivizumab impacts the development of physician-diagnosed recurrent wheezing.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective cohort study followed 191 preterm infants who received palivizumab and 230 untreated preterm infants for 24 months.
  • Infants were assessed for recurrent wheezing through caretaker or physician reports.
  • The study compared wheezing incidence between palivizumab-treated and untreated groups, including a subgroup of untreated infants not hospitalized for RSV LRTI.

Main Results:

  • The incidence of recurrent wheezing was significantly lower in the palivizumab-treated group (13%) compared to the untreated group (26%, P = .001).
  • Physician-diagnosed recurrent wheezing was also significantly lower in the treated group (8%) versus the untreated group (16%, P = .011).
  • These findings remained significant after adjusting for potential confounding variables, including RSV hospitalization status.

Conclusions:

  • Preventing RSV LRTI in premature infants with palivizumab appears to reduce the likelihood of subsequent recurrent wheezing.
  • Palivizumab may be a valuable intervention for reducing long-term respiratory morbidity in preterm infants following RSV infection.
Abstract

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