33 - Bronchiolitis

Bronchiolitis, a disease primarily of the first 2 years of life charac­ terized by signs and symptoms of obstructive airway disease, is caused most commonly by viruses. Approximately 2% to 3% of infants in the first 12 months of life are hospitalized with bron­ chiolitis, accounting for approximately 125,000 hospitalizations and 200 to 500 deaths annually in the United States. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that the number of yearly hospital admissions attributable to bronchiolitis increased more than twofold between 1980 and 1996. Increasing survival rates for premature infants as well as infants with compromised cardiac, pulmonary, and immune status increase the number of children at risk for severe bronchiolitis.