CLINICAL PROFILE OF PEDIATRIC-PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED WITH RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS-INFECTION

To update the clinical profile of pediatric patients hospitalized with RSV infection, we retrospectively reviewed the records of 246 childre n (male:female ratio 1.44:1) admitted during one season to a tertiary- care hospital. The most common admitting diagnoses were bronchiolitis (37.4%), pneumonia (32.5%), and possible septicemia (13%). Median age was 3 months; median length of stay, three days. Twice as many minorit ies were admitted with RSV infection as all other admissions during th e same year. Family history of asthma, while common (35%), did not aff ect length of stay or complications. Of the 38 (15%) patients requirin g intensive care, 29 (76%) underwent ventilation. Patients with underl ying cardiopulmonary disease had more complications, were more likely to require intensive care (about 50%), and had significantly longer ho spital stays than others. All three patients (1.2%) who died had conge nital heart disease. Common risk factors included young age, chronic c ardiopulmonary disease, male sex, and possibly family history of asthm a. Although the most typical clinical diagnoses remain bronchiolitis a nd pneumonia, a systemic illness resembling the sepsis syndrome has em erged at our institution as a significant clinical presentation.