Analysis of Incidence and Clinical Characteristics of RSV Infection in Hospitalized Children: A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence and clinical characteristics of hospitalized children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, and to provide evidence for the importance of preventive strategies and improvements in supportive care of RSV infection. METHODS: This retrospective study included children under 14 years who received throat swab test and were diagnosed with RSV infection from January 2019 to December 2020. Throat swabs and intravenous blood were the main sources of samples, which were obtained within 24 hours of hospitalization. Direct immunofluorescence assay was used to diagnose RSV infection. RESULTS: Among the 448 hospitalized children with RSV infection, males (71.9%) showed the highest proportion, the highest incidence was found in children<6 months old (45.3%), and 76.6% of them had pneumonia. Pharyngeal redness, cough, expectoration, and mental fatigue were the most common symptoms in hospitalized children of all ages. More than 60% of hospitalized children had increased lymphocyte count, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase-MB form, lactate dehydrogenase, and α-HBDH levels. The rates of myocardial damage, respiratory failure, stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), use of mechanical ventilation, and absorption of oxygen were higher in children<6 months old. Except for children who were 37–60 months old, the percentage of length of hospital stay≥7 days in the other age groups was greater than 62.0%. Except for children who were 0–28 days old and>61 months old, the other age groups showed a re-hospitalization situation due to re-infection with RSV. In hospitalized children diagnosed with RSV infection from throat swabs, we also performed the RSV IgM test and found that 59.2% of them were positive, 8.0% of them were weakly positive, and 32.8% of them were negative. CONCLUSION: This study analyzes the incidence and clinical characteristics of hospitalized children with RSV infection, which provides evidence for the importance of preventive strategies and improvements in supportive care of RSV infection.