Letter to the Editor

Defending Local RSV Virology: Rebuttal Letter to Hampp and Winterstein

Authors: Mark Eggleston, PharmD, MBA, Jay H. Bauman, PharmD, Frank Malinoski, MD

Abstract

To the Editor:


We welcome this opportunity to respond to the questions raised by Hampp and Winterstein concerning our analysis of RSV seasonality data for Florida published in the Journal.2 Hampp and Winterstein comment on 1) the data selection criteria we used to interpret RSV seasonality data for various regions within Florida, 2) the significance of the 10% positive threshold used to calculate seasonality data, the severity of RSV disease during summer months, and the efficacy of palivizumab during those months, and 3) the cost-benefit ratio of palivizumab.

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References

1. Hampp C, Winterstein AG. Re: Respiratory syncytial virus: seasonal data for regions of Florida and implications for palivizumab. South Med J 2008;101:.
2. Bauman J, Eggleston M, Oquist N, et al. Respiratory syncytial virus: seasonal data for regions of Florida and implications for palivizumab. South Med J 2007;100:669–676.
 
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brief report: respiratory syncytial virus activity—United States, 2005–2006. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2006;55:1277–1279.
 
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7. Hampp C, Winterstein AG, Arwa S, et al. Palivizumab utilization and hospitalizations related to respiratory syncytial virus infections among Florida Medicaid recipients. Presented at the 23rd International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology and Therapeutic Risk Managament, International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology, August 19–22, 2007, Quebec, Canada.
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9. Lieu TA, Ray GT, Black SB, et al. Projected cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination of healthy infants and young children. JAMA 2000;283;1460–1468.