Lung
Infectious
Viral
RSV
Author: Elliot Weisenberg, M.D.
Last author update: 1 September 2011
Last staff update: 8 August 2024
Copyright: 2003-2024, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed search: Respiratory syncytial virus
Table of Contents
Clinical features | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) imagesCite this page: Weisenberg E. RSV. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/lungnontumorrsv.html. Accessed December 22nd, 2024.
Clinical features
- Leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children (eMedicine: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection [Accessed 8 August 2024])
- Often in children under 2 years old; may cause death in infants 1 - 6 months
- Usually self limited infection in older children
- Infects respiratory epithelium, leading to acute inflammatory response with epithelial sloughing and diffuse alveolar damage in severe cases
- Infection, possibly severe, may also occur in the elderly, especially those with chronic disease
- An effective vaccine has recently been introduced and is widely available; it is recommended by the CDC for adults 75 and older and adults 60 - 74 years old at risk of severe disease (CDC: Vaccines for Adults Ages 60 and Over [Accessed 8 August 2024])
- The vaccine is also recommended for newborn infants or pregnant women
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Prominent airway obstruction (Mod Pathol 2007;20:108)
- Giant cells with inconspicuous, round, pink intracytoplasmic inclusions and acute inflammation
- Affects small bronchiole epithelium, type 1 and 2 pneumocytes, not basal cells
- Inflammation centered on bronchial and pulmonary arterioles, due to monocytes, T cells, neutrophils
Microscopic (histologic) images
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Giant cells
