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RSV-related hospital costs high in kids with underlying medical conditions
News briefToday at 3:08 p.m.
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Topics
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
Long-lasting monoclonal antibodies are recommended to children ages 8 to 19 months old during their second respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season if they have underlying medical conditions (UMCs). A recent study in Pediatrics described the medical costs of RSV-associated hospitalizations for children with or without specific UMCs, providing in greater detail the cost-benefits of monoclonal antibody use in these populations.
The study was based on surveillance from the New Vaccine Surveillance Network and included children aged younger than 2 years hospitalized at six pediatric medical centers with laboratory-confirmed RSV during December 1, 2016, to October 31, 2019. Direct medical costs were adjusted to 2025 dollars for the study.
Those with neurologic, neuromuscular conditions see highest costs
A total of 1,715 children with RSV were hospitalized, of which 67.5% had no UMC or history of prematurity. Among those with UMCs aged 6 to 11 months, the costliest conditions were neurologic or neuromuscular disorders, which resulted in costs 4.4 times those of kids hospitalized without UMCs. Children with neurologic or neuromuscular conditions also had the longest hospital stays (averaging 6.5 days), and were more likely to require mechanical ventilation.Among children in their second year of life, median hospital costs were highest among children with chronic lung disease, the authors said, but total costs were still highest among those with neurologic or neuromuscular conditions.
“The cost-benefit for RSV prophylaxis in children with UMCs, including those beyond current recommendations, may be even greater than predicted,” the authors concluded.
Quick takes: Clade 1 mpox in California, H9N2 avian flu cases in China, more Ebola deaths
News briefToday at 2:25 p.m.
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Topics
Mpox
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Ebola
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever
- Officials in Stanislaus County, California, said four recent mpox cases were or may have been caused by clade 1, the deadlier strain of the virus. The strain typically circulates in Africa and is usually only seen in the United States in connection with international travel. Two of the cases are confirmed clade 1, two are suspected pending analysis, and three of the four case-patients reported not leaving Stanislaus County in the past year. The fourth patient’s travel history is still being investigated. Clade 1 has a case-fatality rate of 1% to 10%, compared with 1% to 4% for the more common clade 2. Both clades commonly spread via close contact, often from sexual contact or household transmission.
- For the first time since August, Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) is reporting human H9N2 avian flu cases, one each in Hubei and Jiangxi provinces. The Hubei patient is a 2-year-old boy with symptom onset on September 22, and the Jiangxi province case occurred in a 77-year-old woman with a September 16 symptom onset. There have been 22 other H9N2 cases reported on mainland China in the past six months, and a single case in Hong Kong. Since 2015, a total of 164 cases of human infection with H9N2 avian flu have been confirmed, including two deaths, both in people with underlying conditions.
- The Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has now killed 5,376 people, including 5,372 in the DRC and two each in Kenya and Uganda. A total of 10,444 people have been sickened in this outbreak, which is entering its seventh month. The case-fatality rate is now over 50%, at 51.6%, as contact tracing remains limited and as there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. Both Ituri and North Kivu provinces remain the epicenter of the outbreak.