Abstract
In order to determine the natural history of bronchiolitis (Br) due to parainfluenza virus (PV), 52 infants were followed prospectively from birth or from the time of an episode of Br due to PV until 4 years of age. Data concerning the presence of atopic disease in family members, breast-feeding and exposure of the infant to cigarette smoke were obtained initially, and patients were then observed at the time of all subsequent episodes of respiratory illness. Twenty-eight infants with Br due to PV and 24 control infants with PV infections resulting in upper respiratory illness (URI) alone were evaluated. Subjects with Br due to PV were more commonly males (70.8% vs. 46.4%) and more frequently had been breast-fed (73.9% vs. 42.9%) in comparison to controls (p<0.05) but did not differ in terms of family history of atopic disease or smoke exposure. Subsequent wheezing episodes occurred in 87.5% of Br patients vs. 16.7% of controls (p<0.01). Subsequent infection with respiratory syncytial virus resulted in wheezing among 94.1% of patients with Br due to PV vs. 16.7% of controls (p<0.01). Subsequent wheezing episodes occurred more commonly following the initial episode of Br due to PV, if the patient was exposed to cigarette smoke (3.1 vs. 1.9 if not exposed, p<0.05) and if the infant had not been breast-fed (3.1 vs. 1.3 if breast-fed, p<0.01). These observations suggest that several environmental factors appear to play a major role in the development of recurrent wheezing following bronchiolitis due to parainfluenza virus.
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Welliver, R. 599 PARAINFLUENZA BRONCHIOLITIS: ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT IN PATHOGENESIS AND OUTCOME. Pediatr Res 19, 210 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00629
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00629