Economic Burden of RSV-Associated Hospitalizations in Switzerland: A Nationwide Analysis (2017–2023)

Background/Objectives: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory illness across the lifespan, yet its health-economic burden in adults remains underrecognized. Building on a previously published nationwide analysis of RSV-associated hospitalizations in Switzerland (2017–2023), this study aimed to estimate age-specific direct inpatient hospitalization costs and assess their implications for healthcare systems. Methods: We conducted a nationwide health-economic analysis using Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) hospitalization data (2017–2023) combined with SwissDRG-based cost statistics (2024). Age-specific costs per hospitalization were applied to RSV-associated hospitalization counts. To account for disease severity, additional estimates were derived using RSV-specific length-of-stay (LOS) ratios compared with all-cause hospitalizations. Results: Total RSV-associated hospitalization costs were estimated at CHF 55.1–70.2 million annually. Children aged 0–9 years accounted for the highest number of hospitalizations and the largest share of total costs (CHF 27.8–34.3 million). Despite fewer hospitalizations, adults aged ≥60 years generated comparable total costs (CHF 23.6–31.1 million), driven by substantially higher costs per case. Costs increased markedly with age, reflecting longer hospital stays and higher clinical severity. Conclusions: RSV-associated hospitalizations impose a substantial economic burden on the Swiss healthcare system. The disproportionate contribution of older adults highlights the importance of targeted prevention strategies and provides a foundation for future health-economic evaluations and policy decision-making. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory illness across the lifespan, yet its health-economic burden in adults, particularly older adults, remains underrecognized. Building on a previously published nationwide analysis of RSV-associated hospitalizations in Switzerland (2017–2023), we estimated age-specific direct inpatient hospitalization costs by combining national hospitalization data with SwissDRG-based cost statistics from the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (2024) and length-of-stay–based adjustments to reflect disease severity. Overall, RSV-associated hospitalization costs were estimated at approximately CHF 55.1–70.2 million per year across all age groups. Children aged 0–9 years accounted for the highest number of hospitalizations and the largest share of total costs (CHF 27.8–34.3 million annually). Despite substantially fewer hospitalizations, adults aged ≥60 years generated comparable costs (CHF 23.6–31.1 million), driven by markedly higher costs per case. Average costs per hospitalization ranged from CHF 8,100–10,000 in children and CHF 17,000–22,800 in older adults. Costs increased steeply with age, with more than a 45-fold difference between adults aged ≥80 years and those aged 20–29 years. These findings demonstrate that RSV-associated hospitalizations impose a substantial health-economic burden in young and older age and highlight the disproportionate contribution of older adults to inpatient costs, reinforcing the importance of targeted RSV prevention strategies in high-risk and ageing populations.