Lisa Gürke, Gregor Hanslik, Linda-Marie Mulzer, Stefan Zimmermann, Heiko Reutter, Patrick Morhart, Joachim Wölfle, Michael K. Baumgartner, Anna-Lena Behr, Anne Christina Garbe, Hans-Christoph von Andrian, Melanie L. Conrad, Fabian B. Fahlbusch, Steven Hébert
- Background/Objectives: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of infant respiratory morbidity, yet real-world data on healthcare utilization following universal immunoprophylaxis remain limited.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed RSV-positive inpatient and emergency department (ED) encounters from two German tertiary pediatric centers across six seasons (2019/20–2024/25). Augsburg contributed inpatient data for 2022/23–2024/25, including immunization status and severity metrics, while Erlangen provided inpatient and ED data across all seasons.
Results: In Augsburg, RSV hospitalizations were higher in pre-immunization seasons than in 2024/25, accompanied by a reduced proportion of infants < 1 year. RSV season onset occurred later in 2024/25, while severity metrics remained stable. Among infants < 1 year hospitalized in 2024/25, all severe cases occurred in unimmunized infants; no severe outcomes were observed among the small number of immunized cases.
Conclusions:Background/Objectives: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of infant respiratory morbidity, yet real-world data on healthcare utilization following universal immunoprophylaxis remain limited.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed RSV-positive inpatient and emergency department (ED) encounters from two German tertiary pediatric centers across six seasons (2019/20–2024/25). Augsburg contributed inpatient data for 2022/23–2024/25, including immunization status and severity metrics, while Erlangen provided inpatient and ED data across all seasons.
Results: In Augsburg, RSV hospitalizations were higher in pre-immunization seasons than in 2024/25, accompanied by a reduced proportion of infants < 1 year. RSV season onset occurred later in 2024/25, while severity metrics remained stable. Among infants < 1 year hospitalized in 2024/25, all severe cases occurred in unimmunized infants; no severe outcomes were observed among the small number of immunized cases.
Conclusions: Integrated multicenter data descriptively coincide with reduced RSV hospitalization burden following immunoprophylaxis introduction, without evidence of increased disease severity.…
