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Published on: November 4, 2010

Asthma-related Pediatric Healthcare Utilization after Hospitalization for RSV and Other Viral Lower Respiratory Tract

Guy Hazan1,2, Mai Ofri1,3, Lital Hertz4

  • 1Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.

Open Forum Infectious Diseases
|July 14, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes more healthcare utilization in infants than other respiratory viruses. Early RSV prevention is crucial for reducing long-term respiratory illness burden in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a primary cause of infant lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI).
  • The comparative healthcare burden of RSV-LRTI versus other respiratory virus-LRTI (ORspV-LRTI) is not well-defined.
  • This study aimed to compare population-level healthcare utilization (HCU) for RSV-LRTI and ORspV-LRTI in infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the acute and long-term population-level healthcare utilization (HCU) associated with respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract infection (RSV-LRTI) versus other respiratory virus lower respiratory tract infection (ORspV-LRTI) in infants.
  • To inform public health strategies for managing viral respiratory infections in early childhood.

Main Methods:

  • Nationwide retrospective cohort study using electronic health records from Clalit Health Services (CHS) in Israel.
  • Included infants hospitalized with PCR-confirmed viral LRTI before 12 months of age during RSV seasons (2015-2023).
  • Assessed acute HCU (within 30 days post-discharge) and long-term respiratory HCU (through 6 years of age), calculating population-level event rates and incidence rate ratios (IRRs).

Main Results:

  • The study included 5822 infants (4951 RSV-LRTI; 871 ORspV-LRTI).
  • RSV-LRTI infants experienced significantly higher acute HCU, including longer hospitalization duration (IRR=6.90) and increased anti-asthma medication use (IRR=4.77-8.04).
  • Elevated long-term HCU was observed in the RSV-LRTI group, with higher rates of respiratory medication use, pediatric pulmonologist visits (IRR=6.44), and respiratory hospitalizations (IRR=5.39) through age 6.

Conclusions:

  • Infant RSV-LRTI is associated with substantially greater population-level healthcare utilization compared to ORspV-LRTI, both acutely and long-term.
  • These findings underscore the significant healthcare burden of RSV in early childhood.
  • Prioritizing early-life RSV prevention strategies is supported by the evidence of greater HCU associated with RSV-LRTI.
Abstract

Keywords:
pulmonary morbidityrespiratory syncytial virus

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