Risk of Cardiorespiratory Events Following Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Hospitalization.

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Pulmonology
• Infectious Diseases
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common pathogen that can lead to severe cardiorespiratory events in adults.
• Understanding the post-hospitalization risks associated with RSV is crucial for patient management and public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the risk of cardiorespiratory events in adults within 180 days following an RSV-related hospitalization.
• To compare the incidence of events during risk periods versus control periods.

Main Methods:

• A self-controlled case series study design was employed using deidentified data from January 2017 to March 2024.
• Conditional Poisson regression was used to analyze the incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of cardiorespiratory events (myocardial infarction, stroke, COPD exacerbation, CHF exacerbation, arrhythmia) after RSV hospitalization.

Main Results:

• A total of 11,887 adult patients with RSV hospitalization were included.
• Significantly increased risks for all studied cardiorespiratory events were observed within 14 days post-hospitalization, with the highest risks in the first 7 days.
• IRRs for myocardial infarction ranged from 8.7 (days 1-7) to 2.6 (days 15-21); for stroke, 7.4 (days 1-7) to 3.7 (days 15-21); and for CHF exacerbation, 12.5 (days 1-7) to 2.4 (days 15-21).
• COPD exacerbation and arrhythmia also showed elevated risks, though decreasing significantly by the third week.

Conclusions:

• RSV hospitalization is associated with a heightened risk of cardiorespiratory events, persisting for up to 180 days for certain conditions.
• The findings underscore the need for increased RSV vaccination uptake in the adult population, similar to recommendations for influenza and SARS-CoV-2.