Author Of 1 Presentation
CHARACTERISTICS OF PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED WITH ACUTE BRONCHIOLITIS IN A PORTUGUESE PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
Abstract
Background
Bronchiolitis remains a major cause of respiratory failure, with RSV infection being the most frequent cause.
Objectives
To characterize the cases of acute bronchiolitis admitted to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
Methods
Retrospective study of patients admitted to our PICU with the diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis, from 1-10-2016 to 30-09-2018.
Results
26 patients were admitted with the diagnosis of bronchiolitis; 16 were males and the median age was 3 months [1-24]. The median duration of hospitalization was 6 days [2-44] and the main cause of hospitalization was acute respiratory failure (24/26). Thirteen patients had comorbidities, the most common being prematurity (7/13) and congenital heart disease (5/13). Fifteen patients required noninvasive ventilation (NIV, mean duration of 4 days) and 10 required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV, mean duration of 6 days). One patient required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The most frequently isolated virus was RSV (15/20), followed by Metapneumovirus (3/20). Seventeen patients had bacterial infection; the most frequent agents were Staphylococcus aureus(11/17) and Haemophilus influenzae(10/17). RSV infection was associated with a median duration of hospitalization of more than 7 days (p <0.05), but not with superior requirement of NIV or IMV. No statistically significant differences were found between the groups of patients with and without comorbidities, regarding the duration of hospitalization and the need for NIV or IMV. No deaths were recorded.
Conclusion
Although NIV is increasingly used in bronquiolitis, 40% of our patients required IMV. We also highlight the fact that half of the children had comorbidities, which is according to the literature.