Real-world data confirm the effectiveness of nirsevimab in young infants with bronchiolitis

Real-world data confirm the effectiveness of nirsevimab in young infants with bronchiolitis

A single dose of the long-acting antibody nirsevimab, which can be used to prevent respiratory syncytial virus infections (the drug was approved at the European level to protect infants in their first season of exposure to the virus), can cut hospitalizations for bronchitis in half. It is the result of a study in which the University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome Campus – Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli Irccs, coordinated by the University Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Catalonia, Child Care, Leicester -Infirming and University of EDINBUGH, the first to the analysis, the first up to analysis level, the first to real world tools and the EDINBORGE HABTEN and UNIVERSITY.

The work was published in the journal Lancet Regional Health – Europe and was authored by Dr. Danilo Buonsenso, researcher in general and specialist Pediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University and pediatrician at the Pediatric Infectious Diseases of the Fondazione Policinico -Gemelli -IRCCs coordinated.

Buonsenso explains: "Now, for the first time, a real study has analyzed the concrete effects of nirsevimab by comparing European countries with different health policies: Catalonia (Spain), where the drug was introduced in 2023-2024, and some areas of the UK and Rome (Italy) where it has not yet been used."

background

Bronchiolitis is an acute viral infection that affects the respiratory system of children under one year of age, mainly in the first six months of life, with greater frequency between November and March. It is often associated with respiratory syncytial virus infection (in about 3 out of 4 cases), which can cause respiratory failure, especially in children under one year old and under six months old.

Other viruses can also be the cause, metapneumovirus, coronavirus, rhinovirus, adenovirus, influenza and parainfluenza. The infection results from transmission mainly through direct contact with infected secretions.

The study

The data collected from 68 Catalan hospitals and 5 hospitals in Great Britain and Italy show a clear result: in children under 6 months in Catalonia, hospitalizations for bronchiolitis have almost halved compared to the average of previous seasons. Emergency room admissions for the same age group were also significantly reduced. In contrast, there was no significant reduction in the other European centers where nirsevimab was not administered.

The effect of the drug was less pronounced in older children (between 6 and 23 months), suggesting that the greatest effectiveness is concentrated in the first months of life. The authors also emphasize the need for larger, internationally coordinated studies, not least the economic sustainability of large-scale introduction of nirsevimab.

The study represents an important step in assessing the real effectiveness of new prevention strategies against RSV and compares, for the first time, countries with different approaches with their implementation, concludes Buonsenso.

Sources: