Current diagnosis and treatment of bronchiolitis in children: a narrative literature review

Bronchiolitis in children is an acute infectious disease of the lower respiratory tract caused primarily by viral pathogens. It is one of the most common illnesses in infants and children under 2 years of age and, therefore, a leading cause of hospitalization in this age group, especially during the winter months. The disease typically begins with a few days of upper respiratory symptoms, such as nasal congestion and rhinorrhea, which then progress to lower respiratory symptoms, including wheezing, cough, difficulty feeding, respiratory failure, hypoxia, and dehydration, often requiring emergency care or hospitalization for supportive care. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause, and recent advances in RSV vaccination are expected to help reduce the global burden of bronchiolitis. Treatment is primarily supportive, focusing on rehydration, suctioning of respiratory secretions, and monitoring for respiratory distress. In severe cases, supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilation may be required. The purpose of this article is to review and describe current knowledge about epidemiology, physiopathology, clinical picture, diagnosis and management of acute bronchiolitis, with particular emphasis on updated evidence and future perspectives in terms of treatment and prevention. We searched Cochrane for systematic reviews and PubMed for scientific articles published in the last 10 years, using a combination of the following search terms: “bronchiolitis”, “respiratory syncytial virus”, “epidemiology”, “risk factors”, “severity”, “diagnosis”, “clinic”, “diagnostic imaging”, “management”, “wheezing”, “prevention”, “vaccine”. The inclusion criteria were articles pertinent to the topic addressed and reviews of the literature available in full in the these databases. Furthermore, we examined references and available guidelines from UK, USA, Canada, China, Italy. The inclusion criteria were articles pertinent to the topic addressed and reviews of the literature available in full in the aforementioned databases. The exclusion criteria, in turn, included articles published in periods prior to 2016 and duplicate articles.

Ҳали таржима қилинмаган