Identifying Post-Discharge Care Needs Among Adults Hospitalized with RSV

After hospitalization, professional home care was required more often for patients with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) than patients with influenza, stroke, and acute myocardial infarction (MI), a study finds.¹

The study highlights the substantial care needs following RSV hospitalization. | Image credit: Felipe Caparrós - stock.adobe.com

The study highlights the substantial care needs following RSV hospitalization, reinforcing the importance of promoting RSV vaccination in older adults to reduce hospitalizations and associated health care demands.

The retrospective observational cohort study is published in BMC Pulmonary Medicine.

“Our study found that approximately one-third of RSV hospitalizations resulted in institutional and professional home care needs immediately following discharge and were comparable to care needs of adults hospitalized with influenza or acute MI,” wrote the researchers of the study. “RSV hospitalizations had similar durations of inpatient and [intensive care unit] stays when compared with influenza, acute MI, and stroke hospitalizations.”

RSV has been found to make up a significant portion of cardiorespiratory hospitalizations, with older adults and infants most at risk for both hospitalizations and morbidity due to RSV.²

In this study, the researchers aimed to identify the burden of immediate post-discharge care needs among adults hospitalized with RSV in the United States compared with those hospitalized with influenza, acute MI, or stroke.¹

The study included adults aged 18 years and older who had been hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of RSV, influenza, acute MI, or stroke from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2019. Demographics for age, sex, race, hospital geographic region, and payer type were collected. Additionally, the researchers assessed risk conditions including cardiopulmonary, cardiovascular, hematological, hepatic, metabolic, neurologic, pulmonary, and renal conditions.

The primary outcome was immediate post-discharge care categorized into 3 levels: elevated, moderate, and same or lower level of care.

A total of 1,112,638 hospitalizations were identified during the study period, including 3629 for RSV, 303,577 for influenza, 388,682 for acute MI, and 416,750 for stroke. Approximately half of the hospitalizations in the RSV, influenza, and stroke cohorts had a cardiovascular comorbidity.

Adults hospitalized with RSV were found to have substantial post-discharge care needs, particularly among those aged 65 years and older. Among patients hospitalized with RSV, 19.1% required professional home care following their hospital stay, followed by 17.7% for patients with influenza, 15.4% for stroke, and 9.8% for acute MI.

Additionally, institutional care needs, such as transfer to skilled nursing facilities or rehabilitation centers, were comparable for RSV (14.2%), influenza (15.8%), and acute MI (14.1%).

However, the researchers noted several limitations to the study, including utilizing an administrative and billing data set, the fact that the data may not have been representative of all US adults, and the potential undercount of RSV-associated hospitalizations.

Despite these limitations, the researchers believe the study finds significant immediate post-discharge care needs among patients hospitalized with RSV.

These findings emphasize that RSV imposes significant post-discharge care demands on patients, highlighting the importance of preventive measures like vaccination to alleviate the burden on health care systems.

“Given the substantial care needs following RSV hospitalizations, efforts to implement preventive strategies, including RSV vaccination in older adults, are needed to reduce the continued healthcare burden after RSV hospitalization,” wrote the researchers.

References

1. Sato R, Judy J, Yacisin K, et al. Immediate post-discharge care among US adults hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus infection. BMC Pulm Med. 2024;24(1):486. Published 2024 Oct 4. doi:10.1186/s12890-024-03251-y

2. Steinzor P. Assessing the economic burden of RSV-associated hospitalizations among US adults. The American Journal of Managed Care^®. Published July 31, 2024. Accessed October 9, 2024. https://www.ajmc.com/view/assessing-the-economic-burden-of-rsv-associated-hospitalizations-among-us-adults