Impact of Respiratory Syncytial Virus on Child, Caregiver, and Family Quality of Life in the United States: Systematic Literature Review and Analysis

Abstract

Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection in US children, reduces quality of life (QOL) of children, their caregivers, and families. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review in PubMed, EconLit, and other databases in the United States of articles published since 2000, derived utility lost per RSV episode from cohort studies, and performed a systematic analysis. Results From 2262 unique citations, 35 received full-text review and 7 met the inclusion criteria (2 cohort studies, 4 modeling studies, and 1 synthesis). Pooled data from the 2 cohort studies (both containing only hospitalized premature infants) gave quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) losses per episode of 0.0173 at day 38. From the cohort study that also assessed caregivers' QOL, we calculated net QALYs lost directly attributable to RSV per nonfatal episode from onset to 60 days after onset for the child, caregiver, child-and-caregiver dyad of 0.0169 (167% over prematurity alone), 0.0031, and 0.0200, respectively. Conclusion Published data on QOL of children in the United States with RSV are scarce and consider only premature hospitalized infants, whereas most RSV episodes occur in children who were born at term and were otherwise healthy. QOL studies are needed beyond hospitalized premature infants.

All Infants Are at Risk of Developing Medically Attended Respiratory Syncytial Virus Lower Respiratory Tract Infection and Deserve Protection

“…Systematic literature reviews by Bowser et al [ 36 ] and Glaser et al [ 37 ] originally focused on an assessment of the cost of RSV-related illness and the burden of this outcome on US infant quality of life, respectively. The small number of resulting citations led to an expansion of the objectives to include systematic analyses.…”

“…Glaser et al [ 37 ] found that published data on the quality of life of US children with RSV were scarce and considered only premature hospitalized infants. Their review identified a key observational study that included follow-up data on both infants and caregivers.…”

Cost of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections in US Infants: Systematic Literature Review and Analysis

“…We included all studies that reported RSV-related costs in US children aged 0 through 59 months published from 1 January 2014, through 2 August 2021. We then selected the literature focused on economic outcomes of RSV, separating the review of QOL for a separate submission [ 11 ]. Two reviewers (K.R.R.…”

The Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Lower Respiratory Tract Disease in Infants in the United States: A Synthesis

“…No accounting of the burden of RSV disease is complete without an examination of its impact on the caregiver and the family taking care of the infant and on the direct and indirect costs to society. In this supplement, Glaser et al [ 30 ] assess the evidence on the impact of RSV on the quality of life of children under 5 years of age. They found 7 studies, only 2 of which were focused on preterm babies [ 31 , 32 ] and could be used to calculate the net quality-adjusted life years per nonfatal episode of RSV in the first 60 days of life.…”