The team of epidemiologists at EpidStrategies (a Division of ToxStrategies), along with colleagues in industry and academia, have been deeply involved in ongoing research on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children. This work is reflected in a trio of abstracts being accepted for presentation at pediatrics-related conferences. Among the studies presented are one noting lower occurrence levels of RSV during the current pandemic, and one evaluating congenital heart disease among RSV-affected children 2 years and younger. The third study compared RSV-related hospitalizations before and after the American Academy of Pediatrics changed their guidance to recommend against the use of palivizumad, an immunoprophylaxis that was being used for at-risk infants.
The recently accepted RSV-related abstracts are:
William Malcolm, Kimberley Fisher, Charles T. Wood, Naimisha Movva, Mina Suh, Zachary Wolf, Suresh Balu, Mark Sendak, Bradley Hintze, Meghan White, Jon Fryzek, Christopher B. Nelson. Infant lower respiratory tract infections, including those caused by RSV, are significantly below historical levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrics Academic Societies 2021, April 30 – May 4, 2021.
Jaime Fergie, Tara Gonzales, Mina Suh, Xiaohui Jiang, Jon P. Fryzek, Naushin Hooda, Ashley Howard, Adam Bloomfield. Higher–risk congenital heart disease (CHD) among children aged ≤24 months with respiratory syncytial virus hospitalizations (RSVH) and all-cause bronchiolitis hospitalizations (BH). 37th Annual Children’s National Symposium: ECMO and the Advanced Therapies for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Failure, Feb 21–23, 2021.
Jaime Fergie, Tara Gonzales, Mina Suh, Xiaohui Jiang, Jon P. Fryzek, Naushin Hooda, Ashley Howard, Adam Bloomfield. Higher-risk congenital heart disease (CHD) among children aged ≤24 months with respiratory syncytial virus hospitalizations (RSVH) and all-cause bronchiolitis hospitalizations (BH) at RSV season before and after the 2014 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidance. California Association of Neonatologists’ 27th Annual Cool Topics in Neonatology Conference, March 5–7, 2021.