MedImmune continues to advance its commitment to pediatric research with today's announcement of the first observational prospective study designed to assess the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among preterm infants 32-to-35 weeks gestational age (GA) in outpatient settings during their first year of life.
The study also seeks to gather virology data regarding the national onset of the RSV season across the four geographic regions established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Additionally, this two-year observational study will look to identify the preterm infants that may be most susceptible to serious RSV infection and the factors that may elevate that risk.
"More than 98 percent of all children contract RSV before their second birthday. Some of these children will be hospitalized and for many more, the severity of the infection forces them to visit a healthcare provider or hospital clinic on an outpatient basis," said Jessie Groothuis, M.D., MedImmune vice president, medical and scientific affairs, infectious disease. "The intent of this first-of-its-kind prospective study is to add to the body of evidence surrounding RSV burden of disease; gaining a snapshot of when the RSV season starts and stops; as well as gathering insight into what risk factors may make preterm infants most susceptible to RSV infection and to serious RSV-related illness."
She went on to say that this information may help pediatricians, payers and health policy makers make better decisions regarding the use of finite healthcare resources on behalf of under-represented and under-served 32-to-35 weeks (GA) preterm infants.