Photo Credit: Peter Hansen

RSV was associated with nearly 10% of outpatient COPD exacerbations in a study of nearly 2,000 clinic visits, according to findings published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Dexter J. Wiseman, MD, PhD, and colleagues sought to determine the frequency of outpatient RSV-related exacerbations of COPD in a cohort of 377 patients with 1,999 clinic visits. In total, there were 310 COPD exacerbations; 27 RSV-related exacerbations accounted for 8.7% of the total. RSV-related exacerbations were detected through PCR alone (n=7), serology alone (n=16), and both PCR and serology (n=4). Increases in RSV-specific N-protein antibodies were as sensitive as antibodies to pre-F or post-F for serodiagnosis of RSV-related exacerbations, and Dr. Wiseman and colleagues noted that RSV-N protein antibodies may have diagnostic value in addition to potentially being beneficial among those vaccinated against RSV. Further, they wrote that “the introduction of vaccines that prevent RSV is expected to benefit patients with COPD.”