Disease burden estimates in economic evaluation studies of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) maternal immunization: a...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a highly contagious pathogen and a leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in young children, posing a significant global health burden. Currently, there are no effective treatment options available. Maternal immunization has emerged as a promising strategy to protect newborns from RSV. The RSVPref vaccine has shown efficacy in reducing RSV hospitalizations and severe cases in newborns aged 3 to 6 months. Economic evaluations of maternal RSV vaccination are increasingly used to inform healthcare decision-making and resource allocation. These evaluations rely heavily on accurate disease burden estimates based on robust epidemiological data, as these assumptions strongly influence cost-effectiveness results and vaccine introduction decisions. This systematic review provides an overview of economic evaluations of RSV maternal immunization, with a focus on methods for estimating the epidemiological disease burden.

We will systematically search for studies in MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, the NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), the HTA database, the Tufts CEA Registry, LILACS, and Web of Science. The search strategy will encompass three main categories, (1) economic evaluation, (2) vaccines, and (3) respiratory syncytial viruses, including studies published since 2000 in any language. Two independent reviewers will extract data via a validated form. The quality of reporting of the included studies will be assessed via the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) 2022 checklist. A descriptive and interpretative synthesis of the obtained extracted data will be performed.

RSV immunization is the most crucial option for reducing the disease burden imposed by the virus in children. This study will systematically review the methodologies used to develop accurate and reliable epidemiological estimates, which are essential components of economic evaluation studies that will support the global implementation of the RSV maternal vaccine.

PROSPERO CRD42024549989.