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[Bronchiolitis: revision of 153 cases and comparative study of ribavirin treatment]
J Colinas Herrero1, C Rodríguez del Corral, P Gómez Sorrigueta
1Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital Del Río Hortega, Valladolid.
Insights
Ribavirin (RBV) treatment significantly improved respiratory distress in children with bronchiolitis, including severe cases. This causal therapy proved effective and cost-neutral due to shorter hospital stays for infants with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Respiratory Medicine
Background:
- Bronchiolitis is a common respiratory infection in infants and young children.
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the primary causative agent of bronchiolitis.
- Understanding epidemiological and clinical data is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To enhance knowledge of epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic aspects of childhood bronchiolitis.
- To evaluate the efficacy of ribavirin (RBV) as a causal treatment for bronchiolitis.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of hospitalized children with bronchiolitis (1987-1994).
- Comparative study of patients with and without RBV treatment.
- RSV identification using direct immunofluorescence.
Main Results:
- Bronchiolitis incidence peaks in winter and urban areas.
- Younger patients with prematurity or neonatal respiratory history showed more severe disease.
- RSV identified in 90.8% of cases.
- RBV treatment led to significant improvement in respiratory distress.
- Hospital stay was shortened with RBV, resulting in similar overall treatment costs.
Conclusions:
- Ribavirin (RBV) is a beneficial treatment for moderate to severe bronchiolitis.
- RBV significantly improves clinical signs of respiratory distress in pediatric patients.
- The study supports RBV as an effective causal therapy for RSV-induced bronchiolitis.
Objective:
We try in this paper to improve the knowledge of the main epidemiological, clinic, evolutive and therapeutic data in cases of children suffering from bronchiolitis in our medium; we analyze particularly the possible usefulness of ribavirin as a causal treatment.
Material And Methods:
Firstly we have accomplished backward studies about the children suffering from bronchiolitis, who has been hospitalized in our Unit from January 1987 to May 1994. Then we have carried out a comparative study of the evolution in both groups of patients with and without RBV treatment. We have identified the Respiratory Sincityal Virus (RSV) by direct immunofluorescence.
Results:
We have found that the bronchiolitis impact is much higher during the winter, as well as city areas. The more affected patients are significantly younger than those with less severe injuries (p < 0.0005), and then, often show personal antecedent of prematurity and neonatal respiratory pathology. We have identified the RSV in 90.8% of the patients. The group treated with RBV showed a significative improvement of respiratory distress. The final cost of treatment was very similar in both groups (with and without RBV), since the hospital stay was shorten in the ribavirin group.
Conclusion:
RBV treatment was very usefull in moderate as well as severe cases in wich we found in average, a significative improvement of the clinic sign of respiratory distress.