MONTREAL — The use of palivizumab prophylaxis significantly decreased the hospitalization rate for acute respiratory illness in infants with cystic fibrosis, Dr. Karin Giebels said at the International Congress on Pediatric Pulmonology.
Infants with cystic fibrosis are at increased risk for hospitalization for lower respiratory tract infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and may suffer long-term airway inflammation and damage as a result of an RSV infection.
Palivizumab (Synagis), a humanized monoclonal antibody, is indicated for the prevention of serious lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in high-risk pediatric patients, but has not been recommended by advisory panels in the United States and Canada as a prophylaxis in infants with cystic fibrosis, said Dr. Giebels, of Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal.
She presented data from a retrospective study of 63 infants who were born between 1999 and 2005 and diagnosed with cystic fibrosis before 18 months of age.