Hospital readmissions for preschool viral-wheeze

The prevalence of preschool viral-wheeze (PVW) has increased significantly over the last decade but little is known about the severity of the condition or the incidence of further serious episodes. In order to assess disease severity, number of readmissions, and clinical predictors for readmission we carried out an audit on the clinical notes of 208 children who were admitted with PVW over a six month period. The median duration of hospitalisation was 24 hours. Four children received mechanical ventilation. Forty-six (22 per cent) children were readmitted within six months. No clinical or demographic variable could distinguish the readmitted from the non-readmitted groups. Duration of hospitalisation for PVW is short, but the readmission rate is high: more effective early management and better parental education may be required.