Validation of an acute bronchiolitis severity scale

Introduction: Acute bronchiolitis (AB) is a very common disease, with a high rate of seasonal hospitalization. Its management requires homogeneous clinical interpretations for which there are different approaches depending on the scales, none of which are properly validated today. Objective: To create an AB severity scale (ABSS) and to validate it. Materials and methods: The development of a parameterized construct with a gradual cumulative score of respiratory rate, heart rate, respiratory effort, auscultation of wheezing and crackles, and the inspiration/expiration ratio. Also, the validation of the ABSS performed on patients diagnosed with AB, and the reliability measured by observing the behaviour of internal consistency, test-retest, external validity and inter-observer agreement. Results: From a total of 290 measurements a Cronbach's reliability alpha of 0.83 was obtained; Kappa agreement index of 0.93 in the test-retest agreement, and Kappa index of 0.682 (˛ < 0.05) for inter-observer agreement. Conclusions: The ABSS can be a reliable tool for measuring the severity of AB. Documento descargado de http://www.analesdepediatria.org el 31/03/2017. Copia para uso personal, se prohíbe la transmisión de este documento por cualquier medio o formato. del 0,784, índice de acuerdo Kappa del 0,93 en el test-retest y un índice de acuerdo Kappa del 0.682 (␣ < 0,05) para la concordancia entre observadores. Conclusiones: La ESBA puede ser un instrumento de fiable para medir la gravedad de la BA.