Abstract
As part of a prospective study, we have reviewed the clinical progress of 81 children, three and a half years after admission to hospital with acute viral bronchiolitis. 56 (69%) reported episodes of lower respiratory symptoms continuing over the preceding year, 25 (31%) had symptoms lasting for longer than 2 weeks on 2 or more occasions, 14 (17%) had symptoms for more than 100 days and 6 (7%) required readmission to hospital with acute respiratory illness. At 2 years, these percentages were 82%, 36%, 33% and 13% respectively. 46 (57%) children were said to be improving or to have become asymptomatic, but 8 (10%) were deteriorating. We compared the symptomatic children with a control group of asthmatics of the same age, and found a significantly higher rate of skin test positivity to common allergens in the latter. Though symptoms were precipitated by a broad range of factors in both groups, upper respiratory tract infection was often the sole factor in the bronchiolitis group. These findings reveal a persisting high incidence of respiratory problems in the index children and suggest that, unlike in asthmatic children, their allergic status is not an important factor.
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Webb, M., Henry, R., Milner, A. et al. CONTINUING RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS THREE AND A HALF YEARS AFTER ACUTE VIRAL BRONCHIOLITIS IN INFANCY. Pediatr Res 19, 1096 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198510000-00161
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198510000-00161