Abstract
BackgroundA better understanding of the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in primary care is needed for policymakers to make informed decisions regarding new preventive measures and treatments. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a protocol for the standardised measurement of the disease burden of RSV infection in primary care in children aged < 5 years.MethodsThe standardised protocol was evaluated in Italy and the Netherlands during the 2019/20 winter. Children aged < 5 years who consulted their primary care physician, met the WHO acute respiratory infections (ARI) case definition, and had a laboratory confirmed positive test for RSV (RT-PCR) were included. RSV symptoms were collected at the time of swabbing. Health care use, duration of symptoms and socio-economic impact was measured 14 days after swabbing. Health related Quality of life (HRQoL) was measured using the parent-proxy report of the PedsQL™4.0 generic core scales (2–4 years) and PedsQL™4.0 infant scales (0–2 years) 30 days after swabbing. The standardised protocol was evaluated in terms of the feasibility of patient recruitment, data collection procedures and whether parents understood the questions.ResultsChildren were recruited via a network of paediatricians in Italy and a sentinel influenza surveillance network of general practitioners in the Netherlands. In Italy and the Netherlands, 293 and 152 children were swabbed respectively, 119 and 32 tested RSV positive; for 119 and 12 children the Day-14 questionnaire was completed and for 116 and 11 the Day-30 questionnaire. In Italy, 33% of the children had persistent symptoms after 14 days and in the Netherlands this figure was 67%. Parents had no problems completing questions concerning health care use, duration of symptoms and socio-economic impact, however, they had some difficulties scoring the HRQoL of their young children.ConclusionRSV symptoms are common after 14 days, and therefore, measuring disease burden outcomes like health care use, duration of symptoms, and socio-economic impact is also recommended at Day-30. The standardised protocol is suitable to measure the clinical and socio-economic disease burden of RSV in young children in primary care.
Highlights
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common pathogen causing respiratory diseases in young children [1,2,3,4]
In Italy, 293 children were swabbed after parents had given informed consent for the study, 119 children (41%) were respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) positive and included in the study (Table 1)
In the Netherlands, 152 children were swabbed in the influenza surveillance program, 32 children (21%) were RSV positive, the parents of 13 children (41%) gave informed consent for this study and 12 parents (38%) completed the Day-14 questionnaire
Summary
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common pathogen causing respiratory diseases in young children [1,2,3,4]. A global burden of disease study estimated that in 2015 approximately 33.1 million young children were infected with RSV, resulting in 3.2 million hospitalisations and 59,600 in-hospital deaths [1]. In Western countries, mortality due to an RSV infection is rare, annual hospitalisation rates in the first year of life are estimated to be 3.2–42.7 cases per 1000 children, with a hospital stay length ranging between two to 11 days, and 2–12% of cases requiring an intensive care unit admission [2, 7]. A better understanding of the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in primary care is needed for policymakers to make informed decisions regarding new preventive measures and treatments. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a protocol for the standardised measurement of the disease burden of RSV infection in primary care in children aged < 5 years
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
