Approaching the RSV season with a nursing plan of action.
As the statistics show with year-in, year-out regularity, during November through March in the United States, approximately 90,000 infants and young children will be hospitalized with a severe lower respiratory infection attributable to the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). This virus, discovered only as recently as 1956, appears to be ubiquitous, infecting virtually 100% of children by age 4. For most of them the resulting illness will be mild and easily vanquished by an intact immune system. For some, however, RSV infection confers considerable morbidity, and these infants and children are the concern of the symposium held in conjunction with Pediatric Nursing's 11th annual conference. The symposium addressed several aspects of RSV infection: Who is at risk and should be hospitalized? How can nurses contribute to the care of hospitalized patients? Are there environmental risks to health-care personnel from ribavirin aerosol, the antiviral treatment approved for RSV infection? Are there special considerations for mechanically ventilated patients? Speakers generally concluded that symptomatic treatment and antiviral therapy with ribavirin aerosol can reduce severe morbidity in severely infected patients with minimal occupation risk to health-care personnel.
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D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012254:Ribavirin