PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

Rates of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated hospitalization among adults with congestive heart failure—United States, 2015–2017

  • Stephanie A. Kujawski,
  • Michael Whitaker,
  • Matthew D. Ritchey,
  • Arthur L. Reingold,
  • Shua J. Chai,
  • Evan J. Anderson,
  • Kyle P. Openo,
  • Maya Monroe,
  • Patricia Ryan,
  • Erica Bye,
  • Kathryn Como-Sabetti,
  • Grant R. Barney,
  • Alison Muse,
  • Nancy M. Bennett,
  • Christina B. Felsen,
  • Ann Thomas,
  • Courtney Crawford,
  • H. Keipp Talbot,
  • William Schaffner,
  • Susan I. Gerber,
  • Gayle E. Langley,
  • Lindsay Kim

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 3

Abstract

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Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can cause severe disease in adults with cardiopulmonary conditions, such as congestive heart failure (CHF). We quantified the rate of RSV-associated hospitalization in adults by CHF status using population-based surveillance in the United States. Methods Population-based surveillance for RSV (RSV-NET) was performed in 35 counties in seven sites during two respiratory seasons (2015–2017) from October 1–April 30. Adults (≥18 years) admitted to a hospital within the surveillance catchment area with laboratory-confirmed RSV identified by clinician-directed testing were included. Presence of underlying CHF was determined by medical chart abstraction. We calculated overall and age-stratified (Results 2042 hospitalized RSV cases with CHF status recorded were identified. Most (60.2%, n = 1230) were ≥65 years, and 28.3% (n = 577) had CHF. The adjusted RSV hospitalization rate was 26.7 (95% CI: 22.2, 31.8) per 10,000 population in adults with CHF versus 3.3 (95% CI: 3.3, 3.3) per 10,000 in adults without CHF (RR: 8.1, 95% CI: 6.8, 9.7; RD: 23.4, 95% CI: 18.9, 28.5). Adults with CHF had higher rates of RSV-associated hospitalization in both age groups (Conclusions Adults with CHF had 8 times the rate of RSV-associated hospitalization compared with adults without CHF. Identifying high-risk populations for RSV infection can inform future RSV vaccination policies and recommendations.