Estimation of respiratory syncytial virus-associated hospital admissions in five European countries: a modelling study

Abstract

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can cause severe disease, notably among infants, older adults, and individuals with comorbidities. Non-systematic testing and differences in coding practices affect direct measures of the hospital disease burden. We aim to tackle this issue and estimate RSV-associated respiratory hospital admissions through time series modelling of hospital admissions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The number of RSV hospital admissions in Denmark, England, Finland, the Netherlands, and Spain were estimated with attribution analyses, using age-specific respiratory tract infection (RTI) admissions combined with virological data, both from routinely collected healthcare data. Analyses covered the years 2016-2023.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>The attributed incidence of RSV per 100,000 children 0-2 months ranged from 1715 in Denmark to 3842 in England. In older adults, substantial differences in the incidence of ICD-10 coded RSV hospitalisations were found, while the attributed RSV incidence was more comparable, ranging from approximately 100 per 100,000 in adults 65-74 years to 200 per 100,000 persons 75-84 years and 500 per 100,000 persons 85 years and older.</p><p><strong>Interpretation: </strong>RSV-attributed time series exhibit a high degree of synchronicity between participating countries, suggesting that this method for attribution addresses the known issues with underdiagnosis and misclassification. In the older age groups, a substantial proportion of RTI hospitalisations is attributed to RSV, underscoring the relevance of RSV as a cause of severe respiratory infections.</p>