BACKGROUND
Respiratory viruses cause significant morbidity and mortality in adults,
especially among frail older adults and those with chronic comorbid
conditions [1, 2]. While the burden of influenza viruses is best
studied, non-influenza viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus
(RSV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), human coronaviruses (CoV),
adenoviruses (AV), and parainfluenza viruses (PIV) are responsible for a
substantial burden of illness in adults [3-6].
However, the population-based incidence and burden of community-onset
non-influenza respiratory viruses associated with hospitalization in
adults have not been systematically assessed. Previous approaches have
utilized weekly laboratory-surveillance and syndromic surveillance
associated with discharge data in statistical models to estimate rates
of hospitalization and mortality associated with respiratory viruses
[4, 7, 8]. Yet, these methods may lack precision as specific viruses
associated with acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are not routinely
laboratory-confirmed nor consistently reported in discharge records.
Thus, the aims of this study were to estimate the population-based
incidence of different laboratory-confirmed respiratory viruses in
hospitalized adults and to describe the disease burden associated with
different viruses measured by hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive
care unit (ICU) admissions, and in-hospital mortality. These parameters
were compared in patients with influenza versus patients with
non-influenza respiratory viruses in efforts to provide an enhanced
understanding of the overall disease burden from respiratory viruses and
better inform resource utilization for hospitals and highlight the value
of preventative strategies, including vaccines.