Respiratory syncytial virus infections in adults

In a retrospective 10-year study of 57 adult patients admitted to Orebro Medical Center Hospital, Sweden, with RS virus infections, pneumonia was diagnosed in 36. A primary episode of obstructive airway symptoms was observed in 20% of the patients with pneumonia. Several patients had a long period of fever and a protracted stay in the hospital. No fatal cases or serious complications were registered. Compromised hosts did not appear to be overrepresented in the material, nor did patients with impaired immune responses seem to be more seriously ill. Laboratory findings indicated that the RS virus pneumonia in adults was in some cases due to a mixed bacterial and RS virus infection, but in a few cases it was caused by the RS virus alone. Positive epidemiologic findings were found only in a few cases. The length of the period between the seasonal peak incidences of RS virus infection varied. A tendency to recurrent long and short intervals between the peak incidences was observed. An IgM antibody response to RS virus was common, and IgM detection was found to be a useful complement in the diagnosis of RS virus disease.