Prevalence and factors associated with the development of asthma in a cohort of children who were preterm infants and received passive immunization with palivizumab.

Authors

Mariana Bueno Manini, Natali Caroline da Silva, Gabriela do Amaral Gurgel Cruz, André Moreno Morcillo, José Dirceu Ribeiro, Adyléia Aparecida Dalbo Contrera Toro

Published in

Respiratory research & clinical practice. Volume 52. Issue 5. Pages e20260119. Epub Nov 09, 2026.

Abstract

To assess the prevalence of asthma in a cohort of preterm infants, comparing those who received prophylaxis with palivizumab, a monoclonal antibody against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), with those who did not. That is relevant because RSV infection has been linked to recurrent wheezing and asthma in childhood, but a causal relationship remains unclear.
This was a prospective cohort study involving children who were preterm infants without congenital heart disease, exposed or not to palivizumab. Parents or legal guardians answered a telephone questionnaire adapted from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, which covers respiratory symptoms, allergy history, and potential risk factors.
Among 292 eligible children, 217 were included (149 in the palivizumab group and 68 in the control group). Of those 217 infants, 25.3% (95% CI:19.9-31.5%) had asthma: 24.2% (95% CI: 17.8-31.5%) in the palivizumab group and 27.9% (95% CI: 18.3-39.5%) in the control group, with no significant difference (p = 0.553). In the bivariate analysis, asthma was significantly associated with a family history of atopy (p < 0.001), parental asthma (p = 0.006), allergic rhinitis in the child (p < 0.001), and atopic dermatitis in the child (p = 0.022). In the multivariate analysis, asthma remained associated with a family history of atopy (adjusted OR = 4.16; 95% CI: 1.77-9.79), allergic rhinitis in the child (adjusted OR = 5.10; 95% CI: 2.59-10.02), and parental asthma (adjusted OR = 2.45; 95% CI: 1.19-5.04).
Palivizumab does not seem to protect against asthma development in preterm infants without congenital heart disease. A family history of atopy, parental asthma, and allergic rhinitis in the child seem to be the primary determinants of asthma risk in such infants.

PMID:
43017624
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 12 Nov 2026.

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