Diabetes and bacterial co-infection are two independent risk factors for respiratory syncytial virus disease severity

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is common among older adults hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infection, yet information on the impact of DM on disease severity is limited. This study retrospectively analyzed 46 Turkish patients infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), with information on their comorbidities, co-infection status, and symptoms. Patients are grouped into four severity levels from mild to severe, according to lung parenchymal infiltration status and oxygen level. Similar to previously published studies, we found that comorbidities of diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, co-infection of any type, bacterial co-infection, and age are associated with the disease severity. Cough is the most common symptom (89%) followed by fever (26%) and myalgia, dyspnea, and weakness (around 20%). Using a second-order analysis (two-variable regression), we identified two independent risks for disease severity, the first is represented by diabetes, and the second is represented by bacterial co-infection. We observed two patients whose more severe symptoms were not associated with an older age, but associated with a combination of diabetes and bacterial co-infection. To confirm the true causality from the statistical correlation, further studies are needed.