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Acute bronchiolitis is among the most common causes of hospitalizations in infants worldwide. Associations between weight and severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate this association. A single-center, retrospective cohort study of infants aged under 24 months, who were hospitalized between 2018 and 2022 for RSV bronchiolitis. Data from computerized medical records were extracted using the MDclone platform. Participants were divided into three groups according to weight percentiles: underweight (below 5th percentile), normal-weight, and overweight (above 85th percentile). A total of 1936 infants (mean age 6.3 months, 55% males) were included, comprising 274 infants who were underweight, 1470 with normal weight, and 192 with overweight. Underweight infants had a higher rate of admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) (9.1% vs. 3.5%, P < 0.005) and prolonged length of stay (LOS) in the hospital (3.13 vs. 2.79 days P < 0.001) compared to those with normal weight. Hyponatremia was also more common in the underweight group (23% vs. 15%, P < 0.001). A multivariable model accounting for prematurity and birthweight predicted a relative risk of 2.01 (95% CI 1.13-3.48, P = 0.015) for PICU admission and 1.42 (95% CI 1.17-1.7, P < 0.001) for a prolonged LOS. Being overweight was not associated with a more severe disease.  Conclusion: Underweight infants, hospitalized for RSV bronchiolitis, had a more severe disease course with a higher complication rate, including PICU admission and prolonged LOS. Thus, careful attention and supervision should be given to this subgroup of infants. What is Known: • Established risk factors for severe bronchiolitis include prematurity, BPD, CHD, and compromised immunity. • Abnormal weight status has been associated with an increased risk for morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases, proposedly due to the effects on endocrine and immunologic systems. What is New: • Underweight infants hospitalized with RSV bronchiolitis face an independent risk of PICU admission and prolonged hospital stay. • Conversely, overweight infants did not display associations with severity measures in our study., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

We investigated prevalence of and factors associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) in a group of patients hospitalized with viral bronchiolitis. We retrospectively enrolled 139 children (mean age = 3.2 ± 2.1 months; males = 58.9%) hospitalized for viral bronchiolitis in a non-pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) setting. The Kidney Disease/Improving Global Outcomes creatinine criterion was used to diagnose AKI. We estimated basal serum creatinine by back-calculating it by Hoste (age) equation assuming that basal eGFR were the median age-based eGFR normative values. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to explore associations with AKI. Out of 139 patients, AKI was found in 15 (10.8%). AKI was found in 13 out of 74 (17.6%) patients with and in 2 out of 65 (3.1%) without respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection (p = 0.006). No patient required renal replacement therapies, while 1 out of 15 (6.7%) developed AKI stage 3, 1 (6.7%) developed AKI stage 2, and 13 (86.6%) developed AKI stage 1. Among the 15 patients with AKI, 13 (86.6%) reached the maximum AKI stage at admission, 1 (6.7%) at 48 h, and 1 (6.7%) at 96 h. At multivariate analysis, birth weight < 10th percentile (odds ratio, OR = 34.1; 95% confidence interval, CI = 3.6-329.4; p = 0.002), preterm birth (OR = 20.3; 95% CI = 3.1-129.5; p = 0.002), RSV infection (OR = 27.0; 95% CI = 2.6-279.9; p = 0.006), and hematocrit levels > 2 standard deviation score (SDS) (OR = 22.4; 95% CI = 2.8-183.6; p = 0.001) were significantly associated with AKI., Conclusion: About 11% of patients hospitalized with viral bronchiolitis in a non-PICU setting develop an AKI (frequently mild in degree). Preterm birth, birth weight < 10th percentile, hematocrit levels > 2SDS, and RSV infection are significantly associated with AKI in the setting of viral bronchiolitis., What Is Known: • Viral bronchiolitis affects children in the first months of life and in 7.5% of cases it can be complicated by acute kidney injury (AKI). • No studies investigated associations with AKI in infants hospitalized for viral bronchiolitis., What Is New: • About 11% of patients hospitalized with viral bronchiolitis can develop an AKI (frequently mild in degree). • Preterm birth, birth weight <10th percentile, hematocrit levels > 2 standard deviation score, and respiratory syncytial virus infection are associated with AKI development in infants with viral bronchiolitis., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC) published pediatric-specific guidelines for the definition, management, and research in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS). Acute viral bronchiolitis (AVB) remains one of the leading causes of admission to PICU. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of AVB. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of PARDS in AVB and identify the risk of RSV as a trigger pathogen for PARDS. This study is a retrospective single-center observational cohort study including children < 2 years of age admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at St Mary's Hospital, London, and presented with AVB in 3 years (2016-2018). Clinical and demographic data was collected; PALICC criteria were applied to define PARDS. Data was expressed as median (IQR range); non-parametric tests were used. In this study, 144 infants with acute viral bronchiolitis were admitted to PICU in the study period. Thirty-nine infants fulfilled criteria of PARDS with RSV as the most common virus identified. Bacterial infection was identified as a risk factor for development of PARDS in infants with AVB.Conclusion: AVB is an important cause of PARDS in infants. RSV is associated with a higher risk of PARDS in AVB. Bacterial co-infection is a significant risk factor for development of PARDS in AVB. What is Known: • Bronchiolitis is a common cause of respiratory failure in children under 2 years. • ARDS is a common cause of PICU admission. What is New: • Evaluation of bronchiolitis as a cause of PARDS according to the PALLIC criteria. • Evaluation of different viruses' outcome in PARDS especially RSV as a commonest cause of AVB.

Unlabelled: Most wheezing episodes in infants are caused and exacerbated by virus-induced lower respiratory tract infections. However, there are few reports of epidemiologic and clinical virus-specific research with a focus on virus-induced wheezing. The purpose of the current study was to characterize the clinical presentation of virus-induced wheezing in pediatric patients <3 years of age who were hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infections. Of the 412 patients in the study, 216 were followed for 3 years. Nasopharyngeal aspirates collected from the patients at the time of admission were examined for the presence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinovirus (RV), parainfluenza-3 virus (PIV-3), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), and influenza virus (Flu) using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and rapid diagnostic tests. Clinical signs were assessed using a severity scoring system. In patients with wheezing at the time of admission, RSV, RV, RSV+RV, Flu, PIV-3, and hMPV were detected in 33, 14, 8, 8, 5, and 3 % of samples, respectively. There were no differences in age and severity scores between patients harboring more prevalent viruses (RSV and RV) and those with less common infections. Patients with wheezing and RV-positive aspirates at the time of admission were more likely to develop subsequent wheezing during the following 3 years., Conclusion: RSV and RV infections are factors in the development and exacerbation of wheezing after virus-induced lower respiratory tract infections. Moreover, RV-induced wheezing may be associated with subsequent recurrent wheezing and the development of asthma.

Hypothermia may reduce the CO(2) production by decreasing the metabolism of the cooled tissue. We describe the first clinical use of hypothermia to lower hypercarbia in a case of bronchiolitis related respiratory failure unresponsive to maximal respiratory support. In this case, hypothermia allowed sparing the use of extracorporeal life support. Conclusion Hypothermia might be useful for severe acute respiratory failure unresponsive to aggressive respiratory support.

Chest physiotherapy (CP) using passive expiratory manoeuvres is widely used in Western Europe for the treatment of bronchiolitis, despite lacking evidence for its efficacy. We undertook an open randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness of CP in infants hospitalised for bronchiolitis by comparing the time to clinical stability, the daily improvement of a severity score and the occurrence of complications between patients with and without CP. Children <1 year admitted for bronchiolitis in a tertiary hospital during two consecutive respiratory syncytial virus seasons were randomised to group 1 with CP (prolonged slow expiratory technique, slow accelerated expiratory flow, rarely induced cough) or group 2 without CP. All children received standard care (rhinopharyngeal suctioning, minimal handling, oxygen for saturation ≥92%, fractionated meals). Ninety-nine eligible children (mean age, 3.9 months), 50 in group 1 and 49 in group 2, with similar baseline variables and clinical severity at admission. Time to clinical stability, assessed as primary outcome, was similar for both groups (2.9 ± 2.1 vs. 3.2 ± 2.8 days, P = 0.45). The rate of improvement of a clinical and respiratory score, defined as secondary outcome, only showed a slightly faster improvement of the respiratory score in the intervention group when including stethoacoustic properties (P = 0.044). Complications were rare but occurred more frequently, although not significantly (P = 0.21), in the control arm. In conclusion, this study shows the absence of effectiveness of CP using passive expiratory techniques in infants hospitalised for bronchiolitis. It seems justified to recommend against the routine use of CP in these patients.

Unlabelled: During winter outbreaks of respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis from 2002 to 2004, three infants presented with a presumptive diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infection and wheezing. The clinical condition in two cases was rapidly progressive and precipitated into intractable shock; clinical and instrumental examinations revealed a cardiac origin of their illness. A subacute presentation permitted a cardiological assessment and a proper treatment in the third infant. An abnormal origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary trunk was demonstrated in all cases. The concurrent acute airway infection had a catastrophic effect on the underlying cardiovascular anomaly leading to refractory cardiogenic shock and death., Conclusion: Admission chest X-ray film and arterial gas analysis can raise the suspicion of cardiac involvement when treating a severe wheezing episode in young infants. Paediatric cardiological evaluation with two-dimensional echocardiography may eventually reveal this rare condition, whereas cardiac catheterisation with aortography remains the standard means of diagnosis.