Complications of RSV infection

Most frequent complications

Lower respiratory system infections, which affect the bronchial tubes and lungs, sometimes follow infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The most common types of these infections include:

• Bronchiolitis, which is an inflammation of the small air passages (bronchioles) that usually affects children younger than 2. It is the leading cause of serious lower respiratory illness in infants.
• Pneumonia, which can make it hard to breathe and to get enough oxygen into the bloodstream because of inflammation in the lungs.

Other complications

Other health problems can also develop as a complication of RSV infection. These include:

• Ear infections (otitis media) in children that tend to last longer and be more severe than ear infections that are caused by other illnesses.¹
• Asthma, which may develop in children who have severe RSV infections in the first years of life. Research shows that most cases of mild asthma caused by respiratory infections (rather than allergies) tend to resolve by adolescence.² However, asthma sometimes recurs in adulthood, especially in people who smoke.
• Dehydration, which can affect anyone who is too ill to absorb enough liquids.
• Collapsed lung (atelectasis), a rare condition that can develop from blocked small air passages in the lung.
• Sudden heart failure, which can result from troubled breathing. This complication is most common in older adults who have underlying heart or lung problems.

Citations

1. Heikkinen T, et al. (1999). Prevalence of various respiratory viruses in the middle ear during acute otitis media. New England Journal of Medicine, 340(4): 260–264.

2. Stein RT, et al. (1999). Respiratory syncytial virus in early life and risk of wheeze and allergy by age 13 years. Lancet, 354(9178): 541–545.