Management of infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus.

This is a consensus document compiled by the Medical Products Agency in Sweden and the Swedish Reference Group for Antiviral Therapy on management of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. Prophylaxis against RSV infections using palivizumab, a commercially available humanized monoclonal IgG1 antibody preparation, is recommended for children <2 y of age with chronic respiratory diseases requiring continuous treatment (oxygen and/or inhalations and/or steroids) during the previous 6 months and children <6 months old who were born before gestational week 26. Ribavirin inhalation treatment may be considered in high-risk infants with clinical symptoms indicating a serious course of an RSV infection. Treatment with ribavirin in combination with intravenous polyclonal immunoglobulin should be considered in patients who have received an allogenic stem cell transplantation or organ transplantation with >1 episode of rejection treatment and who have mild or moderate RSV pneumonia. Evidence-based documentation for treatment of other groups of patients is lacking.