Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections in Children With Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group

Background. Morbidity and mortality related to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is not known. Procedure. We combined data from three Children's Oncology Group AML studies and determined the prevalence of RSV infection and RSV-related mortality in children treated for de novo AML. Results. We found that the prevalence of RSV infection ranged from 0% to 1% in induction and between 0.3 and 2.2% in consolidation. Four children died from RSV resulting in RSV-specific mortality of 0.2% among all children. However, the risk of RSV-related mortality among RSV infection episodes. was high (4/40, 10%). Conclusions. RSV infections and deaths are rare in pediatric AML. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2008;51:784-786. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.