Palivizumad (Synagis^TM)

INESSS has reexamined the eligibility criteria for Québec's palivizumab (SynagisÒ) immunoprophylaxis program for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. An update of a systematic review of the scientific literature was carried out. Studies submitted by the manufacturer and data from a study carried out by the Institut national en santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) were also taken into consideration. INESSS consulted a committee of experts as well. INESSS makes the following recommendations:

• that an eligibility criterion for preterm infants born between 33 and 35 weeks of gestation (WG) not be added;
• that the eligibility criterion for Nunavik term infants be maintained. Maintaining this criterion will need to be accompanied by improvements in the system’s overall functioning;
• that the eligibility criterion for children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia or chronic lung disease of the newborn be modified to make it easier to understand, but without changing its meaning or the target population. The same applies to the criterion for children with heart disease.

INESSS recommends maintaining the current details of palivizumab administration, namely by pursuing the recommended measures aimed at promoting the efficacy of palivizumab. In addition, INESSS is of the opinion that the exclusion criteria in the Héma-Québec circular for the immunoprophylaxis program should be maintained to reduce the number of cases of nonconforming requests.