Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) poses significant health risks, particularly for older adults and individuals with underlying health conditions. Vaccination has the potential to mitigate the morbidity and mortality caused by RSV. To aid vaccine policy decision-makers and healthcare payers, a recent study estimated the annual economic burden of RSV-associated cardiorespiratory hospitalizations among insured U.S. adults aged 18 and older.
Study Overview
The study analyzed data from the Merative MarketScan claims database, covering two periods: September through August of 2017–2018 and 2018–2019. The researchers used negative binomial regression models to estimate the number of RSV-associated cardiorespiratory hospitalizations. These estimates were based on MarketScan-identified cardiorespiratory diagnosis codes and weekly RSV circulation data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The findings highlight the substantial economic burden RSV imposes through cardiorespiratory hospitalizations among U.S. adults. The study underscores the value of using viral positivity data to model excess risk, providing a more comprehensive estimation of RSV hospitalization burden and associated costs than relying on ICD diagnosis codes alone.