Hospital admissions for acute respiratory tract infections among infants from Nunavut and the burden of respiratory syncytial virus: a 10-year retrospective cohort study.
retrospective_cohort · Level III
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40171141.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1016/j.lana.2025.101021 and PMC identifier 11959377.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Nunavut is a northern Canadian territory where a high proportion of infants are admitted to hospital with acute respiratory tract infection (ARI). Previous studies have been limited in regional and/or short duration of coverage. This study aimed to estimate the incidence rate, microbiology and outcomes of ARI hospitalizations in Nunavut infants. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of infants aged <1 year from Nunavut hospitalized for ARI at two regional and four tertiary pediatric hospitals in Canada, January 1, 2010, to June 30, 2020. One regional hospital was located in Nunavut; others were located across Canada. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were performed. We identified 1189 ARI admissions, with an incidence rate of 133.9 per 1000 infants per year (95% confidence interval (CI): 126.8, 141.3). Of these admissions, 56.0% (n = 666) were to regional hospitals alone, 72.3% (n = 860) involved hospitalization outside of Nunavut, 15.6% (n = 185) were admitted into intensive care, and 9.2% (n = 109) underwent mechanical ventilation. Among 730 admissions with a pathogen identified, 45.8% had respiratory syncytial virus (RSV; n = 334), for a yearly incidence rate of 37.8 RSV-associated hospitalizations per 1000 infants (95% CI: 33.9, 42.1). Among RSV-associated hospitalizations, 41.1% (n = 138) were infants 0-2 months of age and 32.1% (n = 108) were >6 months. Compared with non-RSV admissions, infants with RSV had higher odds of admission into intensive care, oxygen therapy, CPAP/BiPAP respiratory support and length of hospital stay over a week. Understanding the high burden of ARI among Nunavut infants can inform health policy and serve as a baseline for assessing the impact of any new interventions targeting infant ARIs. Public Health Agency of Canada and Canadian Institutes of Health Research via the Canadian Immunization Research Network (CNF 151944).