Predicting Bronchiolitis Hospitalization Outcomes by Day of Illness at Admission

Bronchiolitis is described as being most severe 3 to 5 days after the onset of symptoms. Parents of infants and toddlers hospitalized with bronchiolitis are often counseled on the expected course of illness based on this observation.

In a secondary analysis of data from two multicenter studies, researchers assessed the association between day of illness at admission and outcomes in 746 patients younger than 2 years of age (mean, 6.4 months) hospitalized with bronchiolitis. The median duration of symptoms on admission was 4 days (interquartile range, 2–5 days). Twenty-nine percent of patients were admitted to the intensive care unit. Overall, 79% of patients were tested for viruses and 87% were positive, mostly for respiratory syncytial virus…