You Li, Harry Campbell, Harish Nair, RESCEU Investigators
Abstract
Background
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)–related acute lower respiratory infection is an important cause of death in infants and young children. However, little is known about the risk period for RSV-related deaths after presentation to health services with an RSV illness.
Methods
Using the Scottish national mortality database, we identified deaths from respiratory/circulatory causes (hereafter “respiratory/circulatory deaths”) in young children aged <5 years during 2009–2016, whose medical history and records of laboratory-confirmed RSV infections were obtained by linking the mortality database to the national surveillance data set and the Scottish Morbidity Record. We used a self-controlled case series (SCCS) design to evaluate the relative incidence of deaths with respiratory/circulatory deaths in the first year after an RSV episode. We defined the risk interval as the first year after the RSV episode, and the control interval as the period before and after the risk interval until 5 years after birth. Age-adjusted incidence ratio and attributable fraction were generated using the R software package SCCS.
Full article here.