RSV infection poses a significant economic burden to all age groups

respiratory syncytial virus A study published in , found that (RSV) is an economic burden despite possible underreporting due to lack of routine testing. Journal of Health Economics.

RSV is a seasonal virus that affects children and the elderly. Approximately 470,000 adults aged 60 years and older experience RSV-related hospitalizations, and 33,000 RSV-related in-hospital deaths. The authors of this study noted that while the management of acute respiratory infections had been previously estimated, respiratory pathogen-specific management costs were not reported. This systematic literature review aimed to summarize the economic burden of her RSV infection in adults.

The researchers used PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and EconLit to search for studies on economic and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in patients with RSV infection as adults. bottom. There were no language or country restrictions on the searches performed, and the primary search covered her studies from 1 January 2002 to 18 May 2022.

Studies that reported economic outcomes for adults with and without comorbidities were included. These economic outcomes of interest include utilization of medical resources associated with RSV, such as admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and use of mechanical ventilation (MV). General reviews are excluded in this review. Study type, patient population characteristics, length of follow-up, cost outcomes, proportion of patients admitted to ICU, MV, or requiring more advanced care at discharge all used data from included studies. Did. All cost results have been converted to inflated US currency by 2022.

This review includes 65 sources (55 papers and 10 conference abstracts) including studies from North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The breakdown of the 42 financial burden studies included 15 regarding cost burden in adults with RSV infection, 28 demonstrating ICU admission and/or use of MV, and the need for a high level of care at discharge. There were 12 cases.

Fifteen cost-sharing studies were mostly from the United States (n = 9), but also included one study each from Europe, China, New Zealand, and South Korea. Two were from Canada.

Two studies estimated the direct national cost burden of RSV hospitalizations in the United States. These first studies found that the average total hospitalization cost for the US population in 2019 was her $1.3 billion. Those aged 18 to 49 had the highest average hospitalization costs, and those aged 65 and over had the highest cost burden. A second study found similar estimates of average hospital costs of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion and $3.3 billion to $4 billion for adults 60 years and older.

Other studies evaluating cost burden found that the highest average increase in all-cause costs per case of RSV was in adults aged 65 years and older. Short-term incremental costs were also found to be highest in patients aged 50 to her 64 years. Studies reporting all-cause direct costs were found to be extensive. From as low as $8049 to as high as $58,117. The lowest cost estimates come from studies in the United States, where direct costs per RSV hospitalization are estimated at $8,049 to $12,125. Canadian cost estimates were most similar to the US.

Cost burden was also assessed for adults considered to be at high risk. The second highest all-cause direct cost in the first week after RSV diagnosis was in adults aged 18 to 59 years ($10,170). This age group also had his second-largest increase in all-cause average weekly costs after RSV diagnosis ($8,349). A second study found that high-risk patients hospitalized 180 days after RSV diagnosis accounted for the highest total cost ($49,108).

Costs per comorbidity were assessed in only one study and found that patients with cardiovascular disease cost $3,237 more than those without. Costs increased by $5,883 in patients with chronic liver disease and $936 in patients with chronic kidney disease. A study evaluating the cost difference between RSV infection and influenza found hospitalization for RSV to be $713 to $38,800 higher than hospitalization for influenza.

The overall proportion of comorbidities was not reported in all studies, which limited our ability to analyze them by the severity of their comorbidities. Half of the studies included diagnosis of RSV based on diagnostic codes rather than laboratory confirmation. Additionally, some cost types may have been excluded, all of which present limitations to these findings.

The researchers concluded that a substantial economic burden is attributed to RSV infection, even though it may be more widely underreported.

reference

Grace M, Colosia A, Wolowacz S, Panozzo C, Ghaswala P. The economic burden of respiratory syncytial virus infection in adults: a systematic literature review. J Med Econ. Published online May 11, 2023. doi:10.1080/13696998.2023.2213125