Patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at increased risk for respiratory syncytial virus infection, according to new research presented at the 2023 annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.
Although patients with IBD are at an increased risk for developing respiratory infections, research has been limited on RSV in this setting, according to the researchers, led by Ryan A. Smith, MD, a gastroenterology fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He and his co-investigators wanted to evaluate whether patients with IBD are at an increased risk for RSV infection because that information can assist in informing appropriate vaccination strategies now that RSV vaccines are available.
Noting that there are no treatments available for adults with IBD who are infected with RSV infection, senior researcher Freddy Caldera, DO, MS, said, “The best we can do is make sure patients are vaccinated to help prevent serious infections.”