A Prospective, Non-Interventional Study to Evaluate the Incidence of Hospitalizations and Medically Attended Lower Respiratory Tract Infection (MALRI) in Premature Infants not Prophylaxed for RSV

RSV is an important respiratory infection of infants and young children accounting for 125,000 pediatric hospitalizations in the first year of life. The RSV season is from mid fall through late spring. The greatest risk for severe RSV illness or death occurs in children that were born prematurely, those with chronic lung disease, or those with significant congenital heart disease.

Premature infants who were born at less than 32 weeks gestation are at significantly increased risk for severe RSV infection, so they receive preventative antibody “shots” called Synagis. There is also a risk to premature infants who were born between 32 and 35 weeks gestation, but they are not routinely given Synagis because the risk of severe RSV infection is less.

This study will look at infants between 32 and 35 weeks gestation who did not receive Synagis to determine how frequently they get RSV infections, and how often they require hospitalization. Hopefully this will help us evaluate the need for routine treatment to prevent or lessen the severity of RSV illness in this group of infants.