BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. General Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Care
Impact of Nirsevimab universal prophylaxis on RSV bronchiolitis hospitalizations. A tertiary level children's hospital perspective
Provisionally accepted
Stefania Tonetto1*
Carolina Cason2
Elena Fasiolo1
Margherita Dal Cin3
Giorgio COzzi4
Manuela Giangreco4Cristina Zappetti5Silvia Nider4
Alessandro Amaddeo4
Manola Comar6Laura Travan4- 1University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
- 2Department of Advanced Translational Microbiology, IRCCS Materno Infantile Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy
- 3Department of Health Prevention, Azienda sanitaria universitaria Giuliano Isontina, Trieste, Italy
- 4IRCCS Materno Infantile Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy
- 5Central Directorate for Health, Social Policies, Regione autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trieste, Italy
- 6Department of Medical Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
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The 2024-2025 winter season was the first in which Nirsevimab was adopted as universal prophylaxis for bronchiolitis in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. This report describes the impact of Nirsevimab universal prophylaxis on bronchiolitis from the perspective of a tertiary-level, children's hospital, the Institute IRCCS Burlo Garofolo in Trieste, Italy. We conducted a retrospective observational study reviewing the medical records of all children diagnosed with bronchiolitis during the 2024-2025 winter season, and the winter seasons of the seven preceding years. For each infant admitted, we collected data on age, gender, viral testing result, the need for ventilatory support, and the length of hospital stay. The primary outcome was the number of infant admissions for bronchiolitis during the 2024-2025 winter season, compared with previous years. During the study period, from 2016 to 2025, 695 infants were diagnosed with bronchiolitis, and 195 were hospitalized. In the 2024-2025 winter season, 597 neonates, 94% of the children born at the Institute, received Nirsevimab prophylaxis. Following the introduction of Nirsevimab, we observed a decrease in the number of infants requiring hospitalization, a reduction in infants needing ventilatory support, and a decrease in the cumulative length of hospital stay for bronchiolitis, compared to previous years. These results were clearly related to a substantial decrease in the number of RSV-positive infants arrived at the Institute. In our population, Nirsevimab prophylaxis was very effective and led to a considerable reduction in the number of infants infected with RSV and requiring hospitalization. The hospital burden of bronchiolitis was significantly reduced.
Keywords: Bronchiolitis, hospitalisation, Infant, nirsevimab, prophylaxis
Received: 30 Jul 2025; Accepted: 21 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Tonetto, Cason, Fasiolo, Dal Cin, COzzi, Giangreco, Zappetti, Nider, Amaddeo, Comar and Travan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Stefania Tonetto
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