Drugs for the management of respiratory syncytial virus infection.

The management of infants hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus infection is essentially supportive. Drug therapy can have benefits, but these may only be short-term. Systematic review of randomized trials has demonstrated that bronchodilator administration only significantly improves clinical scores. Neither corticosteroids nor ribavirin influence the course of the acute illness, and whether they reduce the associated chronic respiratory morbidity remains controversial. Preliminary results suggest that surfactant, DNase and nitric oxide may be efficacious. Immunoglobulins have no role in the management of acute RSV infection, but passive prophylaxis reduces the hospital admission rate.