Clinical characteristics of patients one year after hospitalisation for viral lower respiratory tract disease: A descriptive US claims analysis

<bold>Background:</bold> Severe viral lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) carries a high burden, with hospitalisation having long-term impacts on health status leading to persistent disability. <bold>Aims:</bold> To describe the clinical characteristics of US adults hospitalised with viral LRTD who survived to one year. <bold>Methods:</bold> Clinical and treatment characteristics in patients hospitalised with viral LRTD during 2022 were analysed using Optum’s de-identified Clinformatics^® Data Mart database in the one year after hospitalisation compared with the year before. <bold>Results:</bold> Mean (SD) age in the overall cohort (N=22,632), 72 (14) y; median (IQR) CCI score, 3 (1-5). 8252 patients had ≥1 readmission; 12% of these due to subsequent viral LRTD. The average time to readmission was 135 days overall and 187 days for viral LRTD. In the overall cohort, 14% of patients had a new diagnosis in the year after hospitalisation, including 13% for kidney dysfunction, 12% for depression, 12% for anxiety, and 9% for lung complications (Figure). New diagnoses were more frequent in patients who had IMV/ECMO (21%). In the year after hospitalisation, 23% of patients had a new prescription for a systemic corticosteroid (SCS) and 13% for an opioid. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> A year after LRTD-related hospitalisation, >1/3 of patients were readmitted, ~1/7 had a new diagnosis, >1/5 had new prescriptions for SCS and >1/10 for opioids. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/OA3685/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>