Characterization of outpatient respiratory syncytial virus infection in children under 5 years of age in a tertiary-level hospital.

Introduction. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute respiratory infections. This study aimed to characterize outpatient RSV cases in children under 5 years of age who attended a public pediatric hospital. Population and methods. Cross-sectional study between 2022 and 2024. We analyzed 102 ambulatory cases of acute respiratory infection due to RSV diagnosed in the Ambulatory Monitoring Unit.

Results

The median age was 16.4 months; 70% were younger than 24 months, and 54.9% were male. Most of the patients belonged to the middle class, and 62.5% of the mothers had a secondary education or higher; 88.7% were born at term, 54% by cesarean section, and 43.2% were exclusively breastfed until six months; 19.6% had some comorbidity. The most common manifestations were cough (99%), fever (86%), rhinorrhea (84%), and respiratory distress (32%). The primary diagnoses were bronchiolitis or obstructive bronchial syndrome (50.9%) and influenza-like illness (30.4%). Antibiotics were administered to 21.6% of the patients. Of the working caregivers, 62.5% had to be absent from work, with a median absence of 1.5 days. Conclusion. In patients attended on an outpatient basis, RSV presented seasonally, affecting mainly healthy children aged 13-24 months, with bronchiolitis being the most common diagnosis.