The burden of RSV-positive acute respiratory infection (ARI) in older adults was considerable before COVID-19 and is associated with lower QOL, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Robert J. Pignolo, MD, PhD, and colleagues followed 2,325 adults aged 50 or older for two RSV seasons from 2019 to 2021 to examine the incidence of RSV-positive ARI before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The incidence rate of RSV-positive ARI was 48.6 per 1,000 person-years before the pandemic, with an attack rate of 2.50%. During the COVID-19 pandemic RSV season, no RSV-positive ARI cases were identified. During the summer of 2021, the incidence was 10.2 per 1,000 person-years, and the attack rate was 0.42%. Participants with RSV positive ARI reported a significantly lower QOLadjusted mean difference within 2-4 weeks after RSV-positive ARI compared with matched RSV-negative ARI, based on pre-pandemic RSV season results. Those with RSV positive versus RSV-negative ARI had lower QOL at 6-7 and at 12-13 months after RSV-positive ARI. “RSV-positive ARI was associated with significant long-term impacts on health-related QOL beyond the acute infection in adults over 50,” Dr. Pignolo and colleagues wrote.
