Economic Burden of Viral Acute Respiratory Infections in Upper-Middle-Income Countries: Protocol For A Systematic Review

Objective: To synthesize the available data on the economic burden of Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)-related Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), and Parainfluenza Virus type III (PIV3)-related ARI in Upper-Middle-Income Countries (UMIC), highlighting its major causes and comparing direct costs among nations. Study design: Systematic review, following the recommendations proposed in the Cochrane Handbook, but with some adaptations from previous economic studies. Review question: Is there any economic cost of viral ARI in UMIC? Types of studies to be included: Partial economic evaluation, such as Cost-of-Illness (COI) studies and burden of illness/diseases, database analysis, observational reports (cross-sectional studies, and prospective and retrospective cohort), and economic modelling studies that discuss one of the viral ARI in UMIC. No year of publication filter or language limit will be applied. Search databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, CINAHL, EconLit, CRD Library, MedRxiv, and Research Square. Moreover, hand searches of the bibliographies of included studies and relevant reviews identified during the screening process will be undertaken to identify any additional relevant study for inclusion in our review. Synthesis of results: Qualitative analysis. We will focus on the overall economic burden of the diseases on health systems and population; total direct cost; the contribution of different cost components to the economic burden (e.g. pharmacological therapy, hospitalization); comparative assessments of costs analysis across geographical location and time horizon; and current research gaps. Moreover, we intend to identify, when presented, prevalence and incidence rates of each disease. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020225757.