CLINICAL QUESTION

Does administration of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine during pregnancy improve infant outcomes?

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER

Maternal RSV vaccination during pregnancy leads to fewer infant hospitalizations with laboratory-confirmed RSV disease compared with placebo.¹ (Strength of Recommendation [SOR]: A, consistent, good-quality patient-oriented evidence.) Maternal RSV vaccination during pregnancy likely makes little to no difference in intrauterine growth restriction or congenital abnormalities compared with placebo. (SOR: B, inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence.) There is also likely little to no difference in rates of preterm labor, stillbirth, infant death, or maternal death, although the quality of this evidence is low. (SOR: B, inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence.)

PRACTICE POINTERS

RSV is a clinically significant disease that leads to 2.1 million outpatient visits and 58,000 to 80,000 hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years in the United States annually.² RSV most notably affects younger infants, with almost one-half of affected infants younger than 6 months.³