Healthcare Utilization and Economic Burden of RSV Infections Among Children Under 5 Years in Saudi Arabia: A MNGHA Facilities Analysis

Number of laboratory-confirmed RSV cases across different age groups

• 34,957 children were analyzed, including 7,371 RSV-positive and 27,586 RSV-negative cases
• Median age wfor RSV-negative children
• RSV-positive cases had significantly higher hospital admission rates (63.2% vs. 26.2%) as 10.0 months for RSV-positive children vs 12.3 months
• The majority of RSV-positive children were previously healthy (95.3%) ,A small proportion had underlying comorbidities (4.7%)
• Infants aged <12 months contributed to a substantial proportion of laboratory-confirmed RSV cases

 Proportional distribution of laboratory-confirmed RSV cases across the study years
 

• infants <12 months contributed to a substantial proportion of cases, with peak incidence in 2022

 Proportion of children with laboratory-confirmed RSV infection by associated comorbidities

• The majority of RSV-positive children were previously healthy (95.3%)
• A small proportion had one or more comorbidities (4.7%)
• Reported comorbidities included congenital heart disease, congenital anomalies, and chronic illnesses

Table 1. Estimated direct medical cost (SAR) distributed by year of diagnosis

Table 1 – Key Findings (By Year)

• Overall direct medical costs increased over time, peaking in 2022 at 13.25 million SAR.
• Costs were markedly higher in 2021 (4.69 million SAR) and declined in 2023 (3.52 million SAR).

Table 2. Estimated direct medical cost (SAR) distributed by age at diagnosis
 

Table 2 – Key Findings (By Age)

• The highest direct medical cost was observed among infants aged 1–2 months (4.61 million SAR).
• High costs were also reported in infants aged 6–11 months (3.67 million SAR) and 3–5 months (2.93 million SAR).
• Infants aged 0–12 months incurred higher costs compared with older age groups.