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Bronchiolitis following infection in adults and children

C C Penn1, C Liu

  • 1Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City.

Clinics in Chest Medicine
|December 1, 1993
PubMed

Insights

Bronchiolitis, common in infants, involves respiratory pathogens and can lead to wheezing or, rarely, bronchiolitis obliterans. Adult bronchiolitis is rare but may share causes with infant forms, with bronchiolitis obliterans having diverse triggers.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pulmonology

Background:

  • Bronchiolitis has been a recognized clinical entity since the 1940s, with evolving understanding of its scope, epidemiology, and effects.
  • It predominantly affects infants and children, often linked to specific respiratory pathogens.
  • While typically acute, it can rarely progress to chronic obstructive conditions like bronchiolitis obliterans.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current knowledge on bronchiolitis, encompassing its epidemiology, clinical presentation, and associations.
  • To explore the relationship between bronchiolitis and subsequent wheezing disorders.
  • To discuss the pathogenesis and causes of bronchiolitis obliterans in both pediatric and adult populations.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and synthesis of existing research on bronchiolitis and bronchiolitis obliterans.
  • Analysis of epidemiological data and identified causative agents.
  • Examination of the progression from acute bronchiolitis to chronic obstructive processes.

Main Results:

  • Bronchiolitis is primarily caused by a limited set of respiratory pathogens in infants and children.
  • The link between bronchiolitis and later wheezing is still under investigation.
  • Bronchiolitis obliterans, a severe outcome, is frequently associated with adenovirus in children and has multiple causes in adults, including infection and graft rejection post-organ transplant.

Conclusions:

  • Bronchiolitis knowledge has advanced significantly, yet some aspects, like its long-term sequelae, require further study.
  • While distinct in presentation, adult and infant bronchiolitis may share etiological agents.
  • Bronchiolitis obliterans in adults is multifactorial, with infection playing a role, but often involves complex interactions, particularly in transplant recipients.

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