Acute respiratory disease (ARD) is a major worldwide cause of morbidity and mortality, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of annual episodes of ARD. We present a review of ARD hospitalizations from Texas Children's Hospital during 4 RSV epidemic periods (1992 to 1996). There were 10,325 hospitalizations for ARD, summarized by age groups below. The average estimated hospitalization rates for ARD in Harris County, TX are double that previously reported and are highest for the youngest age groups. 8517 (82%) ARD admissions were children ≤ 5 years of age with 6482 (63%) children≤2 years of age. There was no significant annual difference with regard to gender (58% male) or payment source (64% Medicaid, 33% insurance) and 35% of admissions were Hispanic, 33% African-American, and 29% Caucasian. 61% of children ≤6 months of age hospitalized with ARD had RSV EIA or viral respiratory cultures obtained, while only 33% of children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years had viral studies completed. RSV associated ARD hospitalizations continue to be a major public health problem in children≤6 months of age, but also appear to involve older children, although they are less likely to be tested for RSV. Prevention strategies for RSV associated ARD hospitalizations should target those ≤5 years of age, especially ≤2 years of age. Table
