Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25297809›Full record

ReviewInfectious diseases and therapy2014

Safety and Effectiveness of Palivizumab in Children at High Risk of Serious Disease Due to Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection: A Systematic Review.

Colleen Wegzyn, Lim Kai Toh, Gerard Notario, Sophie Biguenet, Kristina Unnebrink, Caroline Park, Doris Makari, Michael Norton

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Infectious diseases and therapy, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
48citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
6.6field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

48 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 94 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Efficacy and safety of respiratory syncytial virus vaccines.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Colleen WegzynAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA. colleen.wegzyn@abbvie.com.
Lim Kai TohAbbVie Pte. Ltd, Singapore, Singapore.
Gerard NotarioAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
Sophie BiguenetAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
Kristina UnnebrinkAbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co KG, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Caroline ParkAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
Doris MakariMedImmune, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD, USA.
Michael NortonAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
AbbVie (United States) · USAbbVie (Germany) · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionLower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) is the leading cause of infant mortality globally in post-neonatal infants (i.e., 28-364 days of age). Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most commonly identified pathogen for infant LRTI and is the second most important cause of death in post-neonatal infants. Despite 50 years of RSV vaccine research, there is still no approved vaccine. Therefore, passive immunity with the monoclonal antibody palivizumab is the sole regulatory-approved option for the prevention of serious LRTI caused by RSV in pediatric patients at high risk of RSV disease.

methodsWe conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), open-label non-comparative clinical trials, and prospective observational studies/registries, and summarized the evidence related to the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of palivizumab.

resultsThe efficacy of palivizumab, as measured by the relative reduction in RSV-related hospitalization rate compared with placebo ranged from 39% to 78% (P < 0.05) in the 2 pivotal RCTs. A meta-analysis of the RSV-related hospitalization rate from 5 randomized placebo-controlled trials yielded an overall odds ratio of 0.41 (95% CI, 0.31-0.55) in favor of palivizumab prophylaxis over placebo (P < 0.00001). Low rates of RSV-related hospitalizations were observed in palivizumab recipients consistently over time in more than 42,000 pediatric subjects across 7 RCTs, 4 open-label non-comparative trials, and 8 observational studies/registries conducted in 34 countries. In addition, among palivizumab-prophylaxed subjects with breakthrough RSV LRTI, rates of intensive care unit admission and mechanical ventilation from RSV hospitalization also were low and consistent across studies. With respect to safety, no differences were observed between palivizumab and placebo in the blinded RCTs.

conclusionRates of RSV hospitalizations and RSV hospitalization-related endpoints in pediatric subjects who received prophylaxis with palivizumab were low and constant over time and across RCTs, open-label non-comparative trials, and observational studies/registries.

Indexed as

EfficacyPalivizumabRespiratory syncytial virusSafetySerious lower respiratory tract infectionSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID25297809
PMCPMC4269625
OpenAlexW2038255976

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.