- Overall, the rate of hospitalizations associated with respiratory viruses has decreased throughout February 2024 (-20.0%) compared to January 2024. While COVID- and influenza-associated hospitalizations decreased (-26.5% and -22.7%), all other respiratory viruses increased; human metapneumovirus-associated (HMPV) hospitalizations increasing quickly (117.2%).
- For infants and children (aged 0-4 years old), rhinovirus-associated hospitalizations continue to account for the largest percentage of respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations; 1.2% of all hospitalizations in the last week of February 2024. In general, the rate of hospitalizations for this population associated with all and individual respiratory viruses decreased between January and February.
- For the older adult population (aged 65 years and older), respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations decreased by 19.9%. However, HMPV-associated hospitalizations increased rapidly (+204.6%).
Few sources regularly monitor hospitalizations associated with respiratory viruses. Truveta Research has created a monthly respiratory virus monitoring report to supplement the surveillance data provided by the CDC by describing weekly trends in the rate of hospitalizations overall and for each of the six most common respiratory viruses: COVID-19, influenza, human metapneumovirus (HMPV), parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and rhinovirus. This information can inform decisions about public health, clinical care, and public policy.
Because Truveta Data provides the most complete, timely, and clean de-identified EHR data, including full patient medical records, notes, and images, linked with claims, SDOH, and mortality data for more than 100 million patients across the US, we can show the latest trends in these respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations, including valuable insight into two at-risk populations: infants and children (age 0-4 years old) and older adults (age 65 and over).
This blog provides a snapshot of the key findings with data through February 2024 in the report specific to the overall population across all respiratory viruses, as well as for two high-risk populations: infants and children (age 0-4 years old) and older adults (age 65 and older). For the full analysis – inclusive of demographics, comorbidities, and overall trends in virus-associated hospitalizations across all age groups for each virus – see the complete monitoring report with data through February 2024 on MedRxiv.
Key findings: Trends in respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations
Using a subset of real-world electronic health record (EHR) data from Truveta, a growing collective of health systems that provide more than 18% of all daily clinical care in the US, we identified 483,928 hospitalizations of 449,124 unique patients who tested positive for a respiratory virus between October 01, 2019 and February 25, 2024.
Overall population trends
Overall, the rate of hospitalizations associated with respiratory viruses has decreased throughout February 2024 (-20.0%) compared to January 2024. While COVID- and influenza-associated hospitalizations decreased (-26.5% and -22.7%), hospitalizations associated with all other respiratory viruses increased; HMPV increased quickly over the last month (117.2%).
Infants and children (age 0-4)
For infants and children, the rate of hospitalizations associated with all and individual respiratory viruses decreased between January and February. Rhinovirus-associated hospitalizations account for the largest percentage of hospitalizations; in the last week of February, 1.2% of all hospitalizations were associated with rhinovirus for this population.
Older adults (age 65 and over)
The population over 65 years of age also saw an overall decrease in respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations (-19.9%). However, HMPV-associated hospitalizations increased rapidly (+204.6%).
Discussion
It is important for public health experts and clinical providers to understand the trends in these infections to inform decisions about public health, clinical care, and public policy. Connecting population-level trends with granular clinical information available in Truveta Studio can be very useful to understand which populations are most impacted and may require additional support.
We will continue to monitor respiratory virus-associated hospitalization overall and for at-risk populations.