Findings from a recent study in The American Journal of Gastroenterology revealed that patients with IBD, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are at expanded risk of developing serious infections and hospitalizations due to RSV.

The authors wrote, “It remains unknown whether patients with IBD are at an increased risk of a serious infection due to RSV compared with the general population. The primary aim of this study was to assess the risk of hospitalization in the IBD-RSV cohort compared with that in the non–IBD-RSV control cohort.”

The researchers hypothesized that adult patients with IBD would be at a greater risk of a serious infection, given their immunosuppressed status and previously demonstrated risks of other respiratory diseases.

In this retrospective study, researchers examined data from electronic health records and national databases employing the multi-institutional research network TriNetX.

From January 1, 2007, to February 27, 2023, researchers evaluated the risk of hospitalization in a cohort of patients with IBD compared with that in a non-IBD control cohort with RSV infection. One-to-one (1:1) propensity score matching was executed for the two cohorts’ demographic variables and RSV risk factors.

The study cohorts comprised 794 patients in the IBD-RSV cohort and 93,074 patients in the non–IBD-RSV cohort. The average age of the IBD-RSV cohort was 55.6 ± 20 years, with 59% being female, 80% white, and 56.9% having Crohn’s disease.

The authors wrote, “There were 361 (45.4%) patients who required hospitalization in the IBD-RSV cohort. The diagnosis of RSV could have been made in the outpatient or inpatient setting. Most of the hospitalizations occurred within 24 hours of a positive RSV test or RSV-specific ICD-10 code. There were only 14.3% of patients who were hospitalized before RSV diagnosis.”

The results revealed that the IBD-RSV cohort had an augmented risk of hospitalization with an observed adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 1.30 (95% CI, 1.06-1.59), and there was no significant variance in the risk of a composite outcome of hospitalization-related complications between the two cohorts reported as an aOR of 0.83 (95% CI, 0.58-1.19). The results also indicated that the recent use of systemic corticosteroids (within the past 3 months) was correlated with a heightened risk of hospitalization in the IBD-RSV cohort (aOR 1.86; 95% CI, 1.30-2.59).

The authors wrote, “Our study has important clinical implications for the management of patients with IBD. Gastroenterology providers should educate patients with IBD on the increased risk of hospitalization due to an RSV infection. Eligible patients should be encouraged to receive an RSV vaccine.”

Based on their findings, the researchers concluded that among participants in this retrospective cohort study, patients with IBD are at augmented risk of serious RSV infections and complications compared to non-IBD controls. The researchers also noted that these findings have significant clinical implications for the management of patients with IBD and emphasize the need for further research to investigate the underlying mechanisms and potential interventions to diminish the risk of RSV infection in this vulnerable population.

The researchers also concluded, “Recently licensed RSV vaccines may be useful for mitigating the risks of RSV in the adult population with IBD, especially in patients aged 60 years or older.”

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