The most important risk factor for severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is considered young age due to the immature immune system. The risk at young age is reported greater for RSV than for other respiratory infectious agents. Based on the strong association between young age and severity of RSV infection due to immature immunity, we aimed to assess whether there were any age-related differences in fever responses, as one clinical aspect of the immune response. In our observational study over two seasons (2014-2015 and 2015-2016), daily body temperatures of children under 3 years old with RSV infection were recorded from the first medical visit during the acute phase to defervescence. The body temperature records were analyzed among 171 children of four age groups (< 6, < 12, < 24 and ≥ 24 months), in terms of fever development, degrees of fever onset, the highest fever during the period, and fever duration. There were 54 patients in the group of < 6 months, 41 in the group of < 12 months, 58 in the group of < 24 months, and 18 in the group of ≥ 24 months. We thus found the correlation between age and fever responses under 24 months old; namely, the more the age advanced, the more frequently high and prolonged fever was experienced. Importantly, infants under 6 months old tend to show the suppressed fever responses. In conclusion, young infants with reduced fever response during RSV infection do not implicate less severity and needs attentive management.
Keywords: fever; fever duration; fever responses; pediatrics; respiratory syncytial virus.