INPATIENT BURDEN OF RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS IN GERMANY: A NATIONWIDE INEK ANALYSIS OF HEALTHCARE RESOURCE UTILIZATION ACROSS THREE SEASONS IN ADULTS
Author(s)
Maria Waize, MSc1, Eleftherios Zarkadoulas, FHAS, CERA, MBA2, Alen Marijam, PhD, PharmD1, Cornelia Dannecker, MSc1, Lisa White, PhD3, Theo Mantopoulos, PhD4, Akriti Chahar, PhD5, Nasim Motamedi, MD, PhD1, Claudia Kittel, MSc1, Irit Nachtigall, MD, MHBA6, Gernot Rohde, MD, FERS7.
1GSK, Munich, Germany, 2GSK, Wavre, Belgium, 3GSK, London, United Kingdom, 4IQVIA Global HE/HTA unit, Athens, Greece, 5IQVIA Global HE/HTA unit, Gurugram, India, 6Instituts für Hygiene und Umweltmedizin, Vivantes Netzwerk für Gesundheit GmbH, Berlin, Germany, 7Marburg-University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Respiratory, Intensive Care and Sleep Medicine, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Marburg, Germany.
1GSK, Munich, Germany, 2GSK, Wavre, Belgium, 3GSK, London, United Kingdom, 4IQVIA Global HE/HTA unit, Athens, Greece, 5IQVIA Global HE/HTA unit, Gurugram, India, 6Instituts für Hygiene und Umweltmedizin, Vivantes Netzwerk für Gesundheit GmbH, Berlin, Germany, 7Marburg-University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Respiratory, Intensive Care and Sleep Medicine, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Marburg, Germany.
OBJECTIVES: Hospitalizations due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) place a substantial burden on healthcare systems in Germany, particularly during seasonal peaks coinciding with other respiratory infections. This study aimed to quantify inpatient healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) associated with RSV.
METHODS: Nationwide cross-sectional data from the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK) were retrospectively analyzed across three RSV seasons (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25). RSV-positive hospitalized patients were identified using ICD-10-GM codes. Outcomes included total hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, temporal patterns (weekly hospital and monthly ICU admissions), and in-hospital mortality. All outcomes were stratified by age group and season.
RESULTS: Across the three seasons (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25), 17,757, 12,024, and 21,915 RSV-positive hospitalizations were identified, including 3,155, 2,333, and 4,210 ICU admissions, respectively. Peak weekly hospital admissions reached 2,426, 943, and 1,869, while peak monthly ICU admissions were 1,299, 881, and 1,341, indicating marked seasonal variation and substantial pressure on hospital capacity.
Most RSV-positive hospitalizations occurred in adults aged ≥75 years (57%), followed by those aged 60-74 years (28%), and 8% each in the 18-49 and 50-59 age groups. ICU admissions were more evenly distributed across age groups (17%, 24%, 25%, and 16%, respectively). In-hospital mortality increased progressively with age, from 3% in patients aged 18-49 years to 12% in those aged ≥75 years.
CONCLUSIONS: RSV imposes a substantial burden on inpatient care in Germany, particularly among older adults and during seasonal peaks. However, the true burden is likely underestimated due to multiple sources of underreporting, including limitations in case definitions, testing behaviour and diagnostic methods, misclassification, and the occurrence of non-specific clinical events. Consequently, findings based on RSV-diagnosed cohorts likely represent only a fraction of the actual burden. Ongoing analyses of an RSV-possible cohort aim to provide a more comprehensive and robust assessment of the overall disease burden.
METHODS: Nationwide cross-sectional data from the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK) were retrospectively analyzed across three RSV seasons (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25). RSV-positive hospitalized patients were identified using ICD-10-GM codes. Outcomes included total hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, temporal patterns (weekly hospital and monthly ICU admissions), and in-hospital mortality. All outcomes were stratified by age group and season.
RESULTS: Across the three seasons (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25), 17,757, 12,024, and 21,915 RSV-positive hospitalizations were identified, including 3,155, 2,333, and 4,210 ICU admissions, respectively. Peak weekly hospital admissions reached 2,426, 943, and 1,869, while peak monthly ICU admissions were 1,299, 881, and 1,341, indicating marked seasonal variation and substantial pressure on hospital capacity.
Most RSV-positive hospitalizations occurred in adults aged ≥75 years (57%), followed by those aged 60-74 years (28%), and 8% each in the 18-49 and 50-59 age groups. ICU admissions were more evenly distributed across age groups (17%, 24%, 25%, and 16%, respectively). In-hospital mortality increased progressively with age, from 3% in patients aged 18-49 years to 12% in those aged ≥75 years.
CONCLUSIONS: RSV imposes a substantial burden on inpatient care in Germany, particularly among older adults and during seasonal peaks. However, the true burden is likely underestimated due to multiple sources of underreporting, including limitations in case definitions, testing behaviour and diagnostic methods, misclassification, and the occurrence of non-specific clinical events. Consequently, findings based on RSV-diagnosed cohorts likely represent only a fraction of the actual burden. Ongoing analyses of an RSV-possible cohort aim to provide a more comprehensive and robust assessment of the overall disease burden.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
EPH172
Topic
Epidemiology & Public Health, Study Approaches
Topic Subcategory
Disease Classification & Coding, Public Health
Disease
Infectious Disease (non-vaccine)