Background: Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is responsible for infections mainly affecting the lower respiratory tract in infants and young children after the first exposure. The aim of the study is to show up-to-date information on RSV hospitalization cases in Poland in children aged < 5 years. Methods: A retrospective, population-based study was conducted using data from hospital discharge records of patients hospitalized from 2010−2020. Results: The study group consisted of 57,552 hospitalizations of RSV children. The mean and median ages were 232 (95% CI: 230−234) and 132 (IQR 63−271) days. The mean annual hospitalization rate for patients with RSV infection was estimated to be 267.5 per 100,000, and the highest was observed in children < 1 year (1132.1 per 100,000). The mean annual hospitalization rate was significantly higher in patients living in urban than rural regions (p < 0.001). A statistically significant increase in the number of hospitalizations was observed (p < 0.0001) during the analyzed period. The seasonal pattern was found with the highest rates of hospitalizations in the January−March period. Conclusions: The increasing RSV hospitalization rate requires further research and may be the basis for urgent healthcare measures. The results may be helpful in comparative analyses in the European and global context.
Keywords: epidemiology; hospitalization; national register; public health; respiratory syncytial virus.