Risk factors of severe hospitalized respiratory syncytial virus infection in tertiary care center in Thailand

AIM: To determine factors associated with severe hospitalized Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)‐associated LRTI and to describe management in tertiary care center. METHODS: Retrospective medical record review was conducted among children under 5 years old hospitalized with RSV‐associated LRTI at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Severe RSV‐associated LRTI was defined as death, mechanical ventilator, or positive pressure ventilation use, prolonged hospitalization >7 days. Factors associated with severe RSV were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: From January 2011 to December 2016, 427 children were hospitalized. Median age was 10 months (IQR 4.2‐23.0). One hundred seventy‐four (41%) patients had severe RSV (11 deaths, 56 mechanical ventilators, 19 positive pressure ventilation, and 88 prolonged hospitalization). Factors associated with severe RSV were chronic lung disease (aOR 15.16 [4.26‐53.91]), cirrhosis/biliary atresia (aOR 15.01 [3.21‐70.32]), congenital heart disease (aOR 5.11 [1.97‐13.23]), chemotherapy (aOR 4.7 [1.34‐16.56]), and pre‐term (aOR 2.03 [1.13‐3.67]). Oxygen therapy was mainly low flow oxygen delivery. 88% of cases received bronchodilator. Parenteral antibiotics were prescribed in 37.9% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Children with co‐morbidities have higher risk of severe RSV‐associated LRTI. More than two‐third of patients received bronchodilator, of which was not recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics. The specific treatment and prevention for RSV are urgently needed.