Down’s Syndrome as a Predictor of Viral Syndrome Severity

Based on previous studies linking Down’s syndrome and severe respiratory syncytial virus-induced lower respiratory infection, researchers in Chile designed a retrospective cohort study focused on the clinical differences between children with and without Down’s syndrome who were hospitalized for RSV-induced lower respiratory infection.

The study showed that kids with Down’s syndrome had longer durations in the hospital for lower respiratory infection (p < 0.0001) after adjusting for confounding variables. These kids also were more likely to spend their hospital stay in the intensive care unit (p=0.017) and need mechanical ventilation (p=0.005).

The researchers also noted that the differences in outcomes were more pronounced when comparing children with and without Down’s syndrome who were under the age of 1.

Galleguillos et al., concluded that their data highlights the need for RSV-infection prevention for kids with Down syndrome, especially for kids younger than 1 year old.

Read more here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apa.13552/abstract

~Jazzmin Williams