Down syndrome and respiratory syncytial virus infection.

We reviewed the medical records of all children with Down syndrome (DS), hospitalized in our medical center due to infection with respiratory syncytial virus. During the 9-year study period, there were 41 hospitalizations of 39 children with DS. Mean age was 1.3 years; mean duration of hospitalization was 10.9 days. Patients with DS were older than healthy controls with respiratory syncytial virus infection and needed longer hospitalization.