Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33749408›Full record

ReviewTherapeutic advances in respiratory disease

Respiratory viral infections in the elderly.

Alastair Watson, Tom M A Wilkinson

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Therapeutic advances in respiratory disease. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
73citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
10.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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

73 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 100 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Characteristics and outcomes of adult patients hospitalised with RSV infection, influenza or COVID-19 in Belgium, winter seasons 2023/24 and 2024/25.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2026
    Article
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  13. Review
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  16. Immunosenescence and susceptibility to respiratory viruses: a state-of-the-art review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article

13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Alastair WatsonFaculty of Medicine, Clinical & Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6735-2567
Tom M A WilkinsonFaculty of Medicine, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Southampton University, Mailpoint 810, Level F, South Block, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 6YD, UK.
Southampton General Hospital · GBUniversity Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

With the global over 60-year-old population predicted to more than double over the next 35 years, caring for this aging population has become a major global healthcare challenge. In 2016 there were over 1 million deaths in >70 year olds due to lower respiratory tract infections; 13-31% of these have been reported to be caused by viruses. Since then, there has been a global COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused over 2.3 million deaths so far; increased age has been shown to be the biggest risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Thus, the burden of respiratory viral infections in the elderly is becoming an increasing unmet clinical need. Particular challenges are faced due to the interplay of a variety of factors including complex multimorbidities, decreased physiological reserve and an aging immune system. Moreover, their atypical presentation of symptoms may lead to delayed necessary care, prescription of additional drugs and prolonged hospital stay. This leads to morbidity and mortality and further nosocomial spread. Clinicians currently have limited access to sensitive detection methods. Furthermore, a lack of effective antiviral treatments means there is little incentive to diagnose and record specific non-COVID-19 viral infections. To meet this unmet clinical need, it is first essential to fully understand the burden of respiratory viruses in the elderly. Doing this through prospective screening research studies for all respiratory viruses will help guide preventative policies and clinical trials for emerging therapeutics. The implementation of multiplex point-of-care diagnostics as a mainstay in all healthcare settings will be essential to understand the burden of respiratory viruses, diagnose patients and monitor outbreaks. The further development of novel targeted vaccinations as well as anti-viral therapeutics and new ways to augment the aging immune system is now also essential.

Indexed as

AgedAge FactorsCOVID-19HumansMiddle AgedRespiratory Tract InfectionsCOVID-19elderlyinfluenzapolypharmacyrespiratory virusesRSVSARS-CoV-2screeningtherapeuticsvaccination

Identifiers

PMID33749408
PMCPMC7989115
OpenAlexW3136329885

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.