Clinical Characteristics of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Korean Children: An 11-Year Multicenter Retrospective Study

초록

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children. This study investigates the clinical characteristics, factors descriptively associated with severity, and shifts in age distribution of RSV infection in Korean children over an 11-year period. Materials and Methods: Using electronic medical records from 21 referral hospitals, we conducted a retrospective observational study of children aged 0-4 years with RSV infection between 2012 and 2023. Data were converted to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership-Common Data Model. We compared clinical characteristics between those who received oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation and those who did not. Results: Of 9,625 children who tested positive for RSV, 79.3% were under two years of age and 99.2% were born at term. Among the 1,828 children who received oxygen therapy, 70.2% were aged 0-11 months and 98.8% were full-term, mirroring the overall cohort composition. Among the 104 children who received mechanical ventilation, 79.8% were aged 0-11 months. Within-group comparisons showed that age 0-11 months, male sex, preterm birth, developmental delay, perinatal lung disease, and cardiovascular disease were more frequently observed among children receiving oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation than among those who did not. Conclusion: RSV infection in our cohort predominantly affected young infants, with a post-pandemic shift toward older age groups. The high proportion of full-term infants without underlying conditions among severe cases reflected cohort composition rather than enriched risk. These hypothesis-generating findings suggest that broader prevention strategies covering all infants, alongside high-risk groups, warrant population-level evaluation.

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