Clinical Practice Guideline: The Diagnosis, Management, and

Prevention of Bronchiolitis

ABSTRACT
This guideline is a revision of the clinical practice guideline, “Diagnosis
and Management of Bronchiolitis,” published by the American Academy
of Pediatrics in 2006. The guideline applies to children from 1 through
23 months of age. Other exclusions are noted. Each key action statement indicates level
of evidence, benefit-harm relationship, and level of recommendation. Key action
statements are as follows: Pediatrics 2014;134:e1474–e1502

DIAGNOSIS
1a) Clinicians should diagnose bronchiolitis and assess disease severity on the basis of
history and physical examination (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength:
Strong Recommendation).
1b) Clinicians should assess risk factors for severe disease, such as
age less than 12 weeks, a history of prematurity, underlying cardiopulmonary disease,
or immunodeficiency, when making decisions about evaluation and management of
children with bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Moderate
Recommendation).
1c) When clinicians diagnose bronchiolitis on the basis of history and physical
examination, radiographic or laboratory studies should not be obtained routinely
(Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Moderate Recommendation).

TREATMENT
2) Clinicians should not administer albuterol (or salbutamol) to infants and children
with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength:
Strong Recommendation).
3) Clinicians should not administer epinephrine to infants and children
with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength:
Strong Recommendation).
4a) Nebulized hypertonic saline should not be administered to infants with a diagnosis
of bronchiolitis in the emergency department (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation
Strength: Moderate Recommendation).
4b) Clinicians may administer nebulized hypertonic saline to infants
and children hospitalized for bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation
Strength: Weak Recommendation [based on randomized controlled trials with
inconsistent findings]).
5. Clinicians should not administer systemic corticosteroids to infants with a diagnosis
of bronchiolitis in any setting (Evidence Quality: A; Recommendation Strength: Strong
Recommendation).
6a. Clinicians may choose not to administer supplemental oxygen if the oxyhemoglobin
saturation exceeds 90% in infants and children
with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: D; Recommendation Strength:
Weak Recommendation [based on low level evidence and reasoning from first
principles]).
6b. Clinicians may choose not to use continuous pulse oximetry for infants and children
with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: D; Recommendation Strength:
Weak Recommendation [based on lowlevel evidence and reasoning from first
principles]).
7. Clinicians should not use chest physiotherapy for infants and children with a
diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B;
Recommendation Strength: Moderate Recommendation).
8. Clinicians should not administer antibacterial medications to infants and children
with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis unless there is a concomitant bacterial infection, or a
strong suspicion of one (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Strong
Recommendation).
9. Clinicians should administer nasogastric or intravenous fluids for infants with a
diagnosis of bronchiolitis who cannot maintain hydration orally (Evidence Quality: X;
Recommendation Strength: Strong Recommendation).

PREVENTION
10a. Clinicians should not administer palivizumab to otherwise healthy infants with a
gestational age of 29 weeks, 0 days or greater (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation
Strength: Strong Recommendation).
10b. Clinicians should administer palivizumab during the firstyear of life to infants with
hemodynamically significant heart disease or chronic lung disease of prematurity
defined as preterm infants <32 weeks 0 days’ gestation who require >21% oxygen for at
least the first 28 days of life (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength:
Moderate Recommendation).
10c. Clinicians should administer a maximum 5 monthly doses (15 mg/kg/dose) of
palivizumab during the respiratory syncytial virus season to infants who qualify for
palivizumab in the first year of life (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength:
Moderate Recommendation).
11a. All people should disinfect hands before and after direct contact with patients, after
contact with inanimate objects in the direct vicinity of the patient, and after removing
gloves (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Strong Recommendation).
11b. All people should use alcoholbased rubs for hand decontamination when caring for
children with bronchiolitis. When alcoholbased rubs are not available, individuals
should wash their hands with soap and water (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation
Strength: Strong Recommendation).
12a. Clinicians should inquire about the exposure of the infant or child to tobacco
smoke when assessing infants and children for bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: C;
Recommendation Strength: Moderate Recommendation).
12b. Clinicians should counsel caregivers about exposing the infant or child to
environmental tobacco smoke and smoking cessation when assessing a child for
bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Strong).
13. Clinicians should encourage exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months to
decrease the morbidity of respiratory infections. (Evidence Quality: B;
Recommendation Strength: Moderate Recommendation). 14. Clinicians and nurses
should educate personnel and family members on evidence-based diagnosis, treatment,
and prevention in bronchiolitis. (Evidence Quality: C; observational studies;
Recommendation Strength: Moderate Recommendation).

INTRODUCTION
In October 2006, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published the clinical
practice guideline “Diagnosis and Management of Bronchiolitis.”1 The guideline
offered recommendations ranked according to level of evidence and the benefit-harm
relationship. Since completion of the original evidence review in July 2004, a
significant body of literature on bronchiolitis has been published. This update of the
2006 AAP bronchiolitis guideline evaluates published evidence, including that used in
the 2006 guideline as well as evidence published since 2004. Key action statements
(KASs) based on that evidence are provided. The goal of this guideline is to provide an
evidence-based approach to the diagnosis, management, and prevention of bronchiolitis
in children from 1 month through 23 months of age. The guideline
is intended for pediatricians, family physicians, emergency medicine specialists,
hospitalists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who care for
these children. The guideline does not
apply to children with immunodeficiencies, including those with HIV
infection
or recipients of solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplants. Children
with underlying respiratory illnesses,
such as recurrent wheezing, chronic
neonatal lung disease (also known as
bronchopulmonary dysplasia), neuromuscular disease, or cystic fibrosis and
those with hemodynamically significant
congenital heart disease are excluded
from the sections on management unless otherwise noted but are included
in
the discussion of prevention. This guideline will not address long-term
sequelae
of bronchiolitis, such as recurrent
wheezing or risk of asthma, which is
a field with a large and distinct literature.
Bronchiolitis is a disorder commonly
caused by viral lower respiratory tract
infection in infants. Bronchiolitis is
characterized by acute inflammation,
edema, and necrosis of epithelial cells
lining small airways, and increased
mucus production. Signs and symptoms typically begin with rhinitis and
cough, which may progress to tachypnea, wheezing, rales, use of accessory
muscles, and/or nasal flaring.2
Many viruses that infect the respiratory
system cause a similar constellation of
signs and symptoms. The most common etiology of bronchiolitis is
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), with the
highest incidence of infection occurring
between December and March in North
America; however, regional variations
occur3 (Fig 1).4 Ninety percent of children are infected with RSV in the first
2 years of life,5 and up to 40% will
experience lower respiratory tract infection during the initial infection. 6,7
Infection with RSV does not grant permanent or long-term immunity, with
reinfections common throughout life. 8
Other viruses that cause bronchiolitis
include human rhinovirus, human metapneumovirus, influenza, adenovirus,
coronavirus, human, and parainfluenza viruses. In a study of inpatients
and outpatients with bronchiolitis, 9
76% of patients had RSV, 39% had
human rhinovirus, 10% had influenza,
2% had coronavirus, 3% had human
metapneumovirus, and 1% had parainfluenza viruses (some patients had
coinfections, so the total is greater than
100%).
Bronchiolitis is the most common cause
of hospitalization among infants during
the first 12 months of life. Approximately
100 000 bronchiolitis admissions occur
annually in the United States at an
estimated cost of $1.73 billion. 10 One
prospective, population-based study
sponsored by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention reported the
average RSV hospitalization rate was
5.2 per 1000 children younger than 24
months of age during the 5-year period between 2000 and 2005. 11 The
highest age-specific rate of RSV hospitalization occurred among infants
between 30 days and 60 days of age
(25.9 per 1000 children). For preterm
infants (<37 weeks’ gestation), the
RSV hospitalization rate was 4.6 per
1000 children, a number similar to
the RSV hospitalization rate for term
infants of 5.2 per 1000. Infants born
at <30 weeks’ gestation had the
highest hospitalization rate at 18.7
children per 1000, although the small
number of infants born before 30
weeks’ gestation make this number
unreliable. Other studies indicate the
RSV hospitalization rate in extremely preterm infants is similar to that of
term infants.12,13
METHODS
In June 2013, the AAP convened a new
subcommittee to review and revise the
2006 bronchiolitis guideline. The subcommittee included primary care
physicians, including general pediatricians,
a family physician, and pediatric subspecialists, including hospitalists,
pulmonologists, emergency physicians, a
neonatologist, and pediatric infectious
disease physicians. The subcommittee also included an epidemiologist
trained in systematic reviews, a guideline methodologist/informatician, and
a
parent representative. All panel members reviewed the AAP Policy on
Conflict
of Interest and Voluntary Disclosure and
were given an opportunity to declare any
potential conflicts. Any conflicts can be
found in the author listing at the end of
this guideline. All funding was provided
by the AAP, with travel assistance from
the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Chest
Physicians, the American Thoracic
Society, and the American College
of Emergency Physicians for their
liaisons.
The evidence search and review included
electronic database searches in The
Cochrane Library, Medline via Ovid,
and CINAHL via EBSCO. The search
strategy is shown in the Appendix. Related article searches were conducted
in PubMed. The bibliographies of articles identified by database searches
were also reviewed by 1 of 4 members
of the committee, and references identified in this manner were added to
the review. Articles included in the
2003 evidence report on bronchiolitis
in preparation of the AAP 2006 guideline2 also were reviewed. In addition,
the committee reviewed articles published after completion of the
systematic review for these updated
guidelines. The current literature review encompasses the period from
2004 through May 2014.
The evidence-based approach to guideline development requires that the
evidence in support of a policy be identified,
appraised, and summarized and that an
explicit link between evidence and recommendations be defined.
Evidencebased recommendations reflect the
quality of evidence and the balance of
benefit and harm that is anticipated
when the recommendation is followed.
The AAP policy statement “Classifying Recommendations for Clinical
Practice”14 was followed in designating levels of recommendation (Fig 2;
Table 1).
A draft version of this clinical practice
guideline underwent extensive peer
review by committees, councils, and
sections within AAP; the American
Thoracic Society, American College of
Chest Physicians, American Academy
of Family Physicians, and American
College of Emergency Physicians; other
outside organizations; and other individuals identified by the subcommittee
as experts in the field. The
resulting comments were reviewed
by the subcommittee and, when appropriate, incorporated into the
guideline.
This clinical practice guideline is not
intended as a sole source of guidance
in the management of children with
bronchiolitis. Rather, it is intended to
assist clinicians in decision-making.
It is not intended to replace clinical
judgment or establish a protocol for
the care of all children with bronchiolitis. These recommendations may not
provide the only appropriate approach
to the management of children with
bronchiolitis.
All AAP guidelines are reviewed every
5 years.
The main goals in the history and
physical examination of infants presenting with wheeze or other lower
respiratory tract symptoms, particularly
in the winter season, is to differentiate
infants with probable viral bronchiolitis
from those with other disorders. In addition, an estimate of disease severity
(increased respiratory rate, retractions,
decreased oxygen saturation) should be made. Most clinicians recognize
bronchiolitis as a constellation of clinical signs and symptoms occurring in
children younger than 2 years, including a viral upper respiratory tract
prodrome followed by increased respiratory effort and wheezing. Clinical
signs and symptoms of bronchiolitis
consist of rhinorrhea, cough, tachypnea,
wheezing, rales, and increased respiratory effort manifested as grunting,
nasal flaring, and intercostal and/or
subcostal retractions.
The course of bronchiolitis is variable
and dynamic, ranging from transient
events, such as apnea, to progressive
respiratory distress from lower airway
obstruction. Important issues to assess
in the history include the effects of respiratory symptoms on mental status,
feeding, and hydration. The clinician
should assess the ability of the family
to care for the child and to return for
further evaluation if needed. History
of underlying conditions, such as prematurity, cardiac disease, chronic
pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency,
or episodes of previous wheezing, should
be identified. Underlying conditions that
may be associated with an increased
risk of progression to severe disease
or mortality include hemodynamically
significant congenital heart disease,
chronic lung disease (bronchopulmonary
dysplasia), congenital anomalies, 15–17
in utero smoke exposure,18 and the
presence of an immunocompromising
state.19,20 In addition, genetic abnormalities have been associated with more
severe presentation with bronchiolitis. 21
Assessment of a child with bronchiolitis,
including the physical examination, can
be complicated by variability in the disease state and may require serial
observations over time to fully assess the
child’s status. Upper airway obstruction
contributes to work of breathing. Suctioning and positioning may decrease
the work of breathing and improve the
quality of the examination. Respiratory
rate in otherwise healthy children
changes considerably over the first
year of life.22–25 In hospitalized children,
the 50th percentile for respiratory rate
decreased from 41 at 0 to 3 months of
age to 31 at 12 to 18 months of age. 26
Counting respiratory rate over the
course of 1 minute is more accurate
than shorter observations.27 The presence of a normal respiratory rate
suggests that risk of significant viral
or bacterial lower respiratory tract
infection or pneumonia in an infant is
low (negative likelihood ratio approximately 0.5), 27–29 but the presence of
tachypnea does not distinguish between viral and bacterial disease. 30,31
The evidence relating the presence of
specific findings in the assessment of
bronchiolitis to clinical outcomes is
limited. Most studies addressing this
issue have enrolled children when
presenting to hospital settings, including a large, prospective, multicenter
study that assessed a variety of
outcomes from the emergency department (ED) and varied inpatient
settings.18,32,33 Severe adverse events,
such as ICU admission and need for
mechanical ventilation, are uncommon
among children with bronchiolitis and
limit the power of these studies
to detect clinically important risk factors associated with disease
progression.16,34,35 Tachypnea, defined as
a respiratory rate ≥70 per minute, has
been associated with increased risk of
severe disease in some studies35–37 but
not others.38 Many scoring systems
have been developed in an attempt to
objectively quantify respiratory distress, although none has achieved
widespread acceptance and few have
demonstrated any predictive validity,
likely because of the substantial temporal variability in physical findings in
infants with bronchiolitis. 39
Pulse oximetry has been rapidly adopted
into clinical assessment of children
with bronchiolitis on the basis of data
suggesting that it reliably detects hypoxemia not suspected on physical
examination36,40; however, few studies
have assessed the effectiveness of
pulse oximetry to predict clinical outcomes. Among inpatients, perceived
need for supplemental oxygen on the
basis of pulse oximetry has been associated with prolonged hospitalization,
ICU admission, and mechanical
ventilation.16,34,41 Among outpatients,
available evidence differs on whether
mild reductions in pulse oximetry (<95%
on room air) predict progression of
disease or need for a return observational visit. 38
Apnea has been reported to occur with
a wide range of prevalence estimates
and viral etiologies.42,43 Retrospective,
hospital-based studies have included
a high proportion of infants with risk
factors, such as prematurity or neuromuscular disease, that may have
biased
the prevalence estimates. One large
study found no apnea events for infants
assessed as low risk by using several
risk factors: age >1 month for full-term
infants or 48 weeks’ postconceptional
age for preterm infants, and absence
of any previous apneic event at presentation to the hospital. 44 Another
large multicenter study found no association between the specific viral
agent
and risk of apnea in bronchiolitis. 42
The literature on viral testing for bronchiolitis has expanded in recent years
with the availability of sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays.
Large studies of infants hospitalized for
bronchiolitis have consistently found
that 60% to 75% have positive test results
for RSV, and have noted coinfections
in up to one-third of infants. 32,33,45
In the event an infant receiving
monthly prophylaxis is hospitalized
with bronchiolitis, testing should be
performed to determine if RSV is the
etiologic agent. If a breakthrough RSV
infection is determined to be present
based on antigen detection or other assay, monthly palivizumab prophylaxis
should be discontinued because of the
very low likelihood of a second RSV
infection in the same year. Apart from
this setting, routine virologic testing is
not recommended.
Infants with non-RSV bronchiolitis, in
particular human rhinovirus, appear to
have a shorter courses and may represent a different phenotype associated
with repeated wheezing.32 PCR assay
results should be interpreted cautiously,
given that the assay may detect prolonged viral shedding from an unrelated
previous illness, particularly with rhinovirus. In contrast, RSV detected by
PCR assay almost always is associated
with disease. At the individual patient
level, the value of identifying a specific viral etiology causing bronchiolitis
has not been demonstrated.33
Current evidence does not support
routine chest radiography in children
with bronchiolitis. Although many
infants with bronchiolitis have abnormalities on chest radiography, data
are insufficient to demonstrate that
chest radiography correlates well with
disease severity. Atelectasis on chest
radiography was associated with increased risk of severe disease in 1
outpatient study.16 Further studies, including 1 randomized trial, suggest
children with suspected lower respiratory tract infection who had
radiography performed were more likely to
receive antibiotics without any difference in outcomes. 46,47 Initial
radiography
should be reserved for cases in which
respiratory effort is severe enough to
warrant ICU admission or where signs
of an airway complication (such as
pneumothorax) are present.
TREATMENT
ALBUTEROL
Key Action Statement 2
Clinicians should not administer
albuterol (or salbutamol) to infants
and children with a diagnosis of
bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B;
Recommendation Strength: Strong
Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 2
Although several studies and reviews
have evaluated the use of bronchodilator medications for viral bronchiolitis,
most randomized controlled trials have
failed to demonstrate a consistent benefit from α- or β-adrenergic agents.
Several meta-analyses and systematic
reviews48–53 have shown that bronchodilators may improve clinical symptom
scores, but they do not affect disease
resolution, need for hospitalization, or
length of stay (LOS). Because clinical
scores may vary from one observer to
the next39,54 and do not correlate with
more objective measures, such as pulmonary function tests, 55 clinical scores
are not validated measures of the efficacy of bronchodilators. Although
transient improvements in clinical score
have been observed, most infants
treated with bronchodilators will not
benefit from their use.
A recently updated Cochrane systematic review assessing the impact of
bronchodilators on oxygen saturation,
the primary outcome measure, reported
30 randomized controlled trials involving 1992 infants in 12 countries. 56
Some studies included in this review
evaluated agents other than albuterol/
salbutamol (eg, ipratropium and metaproterenol) but did not include
epinephrine. Small sample sizes, lack of
standardized methods for outcome
evaluation (eg, timing of assessments),
and lack of standardized intervention
(various bronchodilators, drug dosages,
routes of administration, and nebulization delivery systems) limit the
interpretation of these studies. Because
of variable study designs as well as the
inclusion of infants who had a history of
previous wheezing in some studies,
there was considerable heterogeneity
in the studies. Sensitivity analysis (ie,
including only studies at low risk of
bias) significantly reduced heterogeneity measures for oximetry while
having
little effect on the overall effect size of
oximetry (mean difference [MD] –0.38,
95% confidence interval [CI] –0.75 to
0.00). Those studies showing benefit57–59
are methodologically weaker than other
studies and include older children with
recurrent wheezing. Results of the
Cochrane review indicated no benefit in
the clinical course of infants with
bronchiolitis who received bronchodilators. The potential adverse effects
(tachycardia and tremors) and cost of
these agents outweigh any potential
benefits.
In the previous iteration of this guideline,
a trial of β-agonists was included as
an option. However, given the greater
strength of the evidence demonstrating no benefit, and that there is no
well-established way to determine an
“objective method of response” to
bronchodilators in bronchiolitis, this
option has been removed. Although it
is true that a small subset of children with bronchiolitis may have reversible
airway obstruction resulting from
smooth muscle constriction, attempts
to define a subgroup of responders
have not been successful to date. If
a clinical trial of bronchodilators is
undertaken, clinicians should note that the
variability of the disease process, the host’s
airway, and the clinical assessments, particularly scoring, would limit the
clinician’s
ability to observe a clinically relevant response to bronchodilators.
Chavasse et al60 reviewed the available
literature on use of β-agonists for children younger than 2 years with
recurrent wheezing. At the time of that
review, there were 3 studies in the
outpatient setting, 2 in the ED, and 3
in the pulmonary function laboratory
setting. This review concluded there
were no clear benefits from the use
of β-agonists in this population. The
authors noted some conflicting evidence, but further study was
recommended only if the population could be
clearly defined and meaningful outcome measures could be identified.
The population of children with bronchiolitis studied in most trials of
bronchodilators limits the ability to
make recommendations for all clinical
scenarios. Children with severe disease
or with respiratory failure were generally excluded from these trials, and
this evidence cannot be generalized to
these situations. Studies using pulmonary function tests show no effect of
albuterol among infants hospitalized
with bronchiolitis.56,61 One study in
a critical care setting showed a small
decrease in inspiratory resistance after albuterol in one group and
levalbuterol in another group, but therapy
was accompanied by clinically significant tachycardia.62 This small clinical
change occurring with significant adverse effects does not justify
recommending albuterol for routine care.
EPINEPHRINE
Key Action Statement 3
Clinicians should not administer
epinephrine to infants and children
with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis
(Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Strong Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 3
Epinephrine is an adrenergic agent
with both β- and α-receptor agonist
activity that has been used to treat
upper and lower respiratory tract illnesses both as a systemic agent and
directly into the respiratory tract,
where it is typically administered as
a nebulized solution. Nebulized epinephrine has been administered in
the racemic form and as the purified
L-enantiomer, which is commercially
available in the United States for intravenous use. Studies in other diseases,
such as croup, have found no
difference in efficacy on the basis of
preparation,63 although the comparison has not been specifically studied
for bronchiolitis. Most studies have
compared L-epinephrine to placebo or
albuterol. A recent Cochrane metaanalysis by Hartling et al 64 systematically
evaluated the evidence on this
topic and found no evidence for utility
in the inpatient setting. Two large,
multicenter randomized trials comparing nebulized epinephrine to placebo 65
or albuterol66 in the hospital
setting found no improvement in LOS
or other inpatient outcomes. A recent,
large multicenter trial found a similar
lack of efficacy compared with placebo and further demonstrated longer
LOS when epinephrine was used
on a fixed schedule compared with an
as-needed schedule.67 This evidence
suggests epinephrine should not be
used in children hospitalized for bronchiolitis, except potentially as a rescue
agent in severe disease, although formal study is needed before a
recommendation for the use of epinephrine
in this setting.
The role of epinephrine in the outpatient setting remains controversial. A
major addition to the evidence
base came from the Canadian Bronchiolitis Epinephrine Steroid Trial. 68
This multicenter randomized trial
enrolled 800 patients with bronchiolitis from 8 EDs and compared
hospitalization rates over a 7-day
period. This study had 4 arms: nebulized epinephrine plus oral
dexamethasone, nebulized epinephrine
plus oral placebo, nebulized placebo
plus oral dexamethasone, and nebulized placebo plus oral placebo. The
group of patients who received epinephrine concomitantly with
corticosteroids had a lower likelihood
of hospitalization by day 7 than the
double placebo group, although this
effect was no longer statistically significant after adjusting for multiple
comparisons.
The systematic review by Hartling
et al64 concluded that epinephrine
reduced hospitalizations compared
with placebo on the day of the ED visit
but not overall. Given that epinephrine has a transient effect and home
administration is not routine practice,
discharging an infant after observing
a response in a monitored setting
raises concerns for subsequent progression of illness. Studies have not
found a difference in revisit rates,
although the numbers of revisits are
small and may not be adequately
powered for this outcome. In summary,
the current state of evidence does not
support a routine role for epinephrine for bronchiolitis in outpatients,
although further data may help to
better define this question.
HYPERTONIC SALINE
Key Action Statement 4a
Nebulized hypertonic saline should
not be administered to infants with
a diagnosis of bronchiolitis in the
emergency department (Evidence
Quality: B; Recommendation Strength:
Moderate Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 4a
Key Action Statement 4b
Clinicians may administer nebulized
hypertonic saline to infants and
children hospitalized for bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation
Strength: Weak
Recommendation [based on randomized controlled trials with
inconsistent findings]).
Action Statement Profile KAS 4b
Nebulized hypertonic saline is an increasingly studied therapy for acute
viral bronchiolitis. Physiologic evidence
suggests that hypertonic saline increases mucociliary clearance in both
normal and diseased lungs. 69–71 Because
the pathology in bronchiolitis involves
airway inflammation and resultant
mucus plugging, improved mucociliary clearance should be beneficial,
although there is only indirect evidence
to support such an assertion. A more
specific theoretical mechanism of action has been proposed on the basis of
the concept of rehydration of the airway surface liquid, although again,
evidence remains indirect.72
A 2013 Cochrane review73 included 11
trials involving 1090 infants with mild to
moderate disease in both inpatient and
emergency settings. There were 6 studies
involving 500 inpatients providing data
for the analysis of LOS with an aggregate
1-day decrease reported, a result largely
driven by the inclusion of 3 studies with
relatively long mean length of stay of 5 to
6 days. The analysis of effect on clinical
scores included 7 studies involving 640
patients in both inpatient and outpatient
settings and demonstrated incremental
positive effect with each day posttreatment from day 1 to day 3 ( –0.88 MD
on
day 1, –1.32 MD on day 2, and –1.51 MD
on day 3). Finally, Zhang et al 73 found no
effect on hospitalization rates in the
pooled analysis of 1 outpatient and 3 ED
studies including 380 total patients.
Several randomized trials published after
the Cochrane review period further informed the current guideline
recommendation. Four trials evaluated admission
rates from the ED, 3 using 3% saline and 1
using 7% saline.74–76 A single trial76 demonstrated a difference in admission
rates
from the ED favoring hypertonic saline,
although the other 4 studies were concordant with the studies included in
the
Cochrane review. However, contrary to the
studies included in the Cochrane review,
none of the more recent trials reported
improvement in LOS and, when added to
the older studies for an updated metaanalysis, they significantly attenuate
the
summary estimate of the effect on LOS. 76,77
Most of the trials included in the Cochrane
review occurred in settings with typical
LOS of more than 3 days in their usual
care arms. Hence, the significant decrease
in LOS noted by Zhang et al73 may not be
generalizable to the United States where
the average LOS is 2.4 days. 10 One other
ongoing clinical trial performed in the
United States, unpublished except in abstract form, further supports the
observation that hypertonic saline does not
decrease LOS in settings where expected
stays are less than 3 days.78
The preponderance of the evidence suggests that 3% saline is safe and
effective at
improving symptoms of mild to moderate
bronchiolitis after 24 hours of use and
reducing hospital LOS in settings in which the duration of stay typically
exceeds 3
days. It has not been shown to be effective
at reducing hospitalization in emergency
settings or in areas where the length
of usage is brief. It has not been
studied in intensive care settings,
and most trials have included only
patients with mild to moderate disease. Most studies have used a 3%
saline concentration, and most have
combined it with bronchodilators
with each dose; however, there is
retrospective evidence that the rate
of adverse events is similar without
bronchodilators,79 as well as prospective evidence extrapolated from
2 trials without bronchodilators. 79,80
A single study was performed in the
ambulatory outpatient setting81; however, future studies in the United
States
should focus on sustained usage on
the basis of pattern of effects discerned in the available literature.
CORTICOSTEROIDS
Key Action Statement 5
Clinicians should not administer
systemic corticosteroids to infants
with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis in
any setting (Evidence Quality: A;
Recommendation Strength: Strong
Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 5
Although there is good evidence of
benefit from corticosteroids in other
respiratory diseases, such as asthma
and croup,82–84 the evidence on corticosteroid use in bronchiolitis is negative.
The most recent Cochrane
systematic review shows that corticosteroids do not significantly reduce
outpatient admissions when compared
with placebo (pooled risk ratio, 0.92;
95% CI, 0.78 to 1.08; and risk ratio, 0.86;
95% CI, 0.7 to 1.06, respectively) and
do not reduce LOS for inpatients (MD
–0.18 days; 95% CI –0.39 to 0.04).85 No
other comparisons showed relevant
differences for either primary or secondary outcomes. This review contained
17 trials with 2596 participants
and included 2 large ED-based randomized trials, neither of which showed
reductions in hospital admissions with
treatment with corticosteroids as compared with placebo. 69,86
One of these large trials, the Canadian
Bronchiolitis Epinephrine Steroid Trial,
however, did show a reduction in hospitalizations 7 days after treatment
with
combined nebulized epinephrine and
oral dexamethasone as compared with
placebo.69 Although an unadjusted analysis showed a relative risk for
hospitalization of 0.65 (95% CI 0.45 to 0.95;
P = .02) for combination therapy as
compared with placebo, adjustment
for multiple comparison rendered the
result insignificant (P = .07). These
results have generated considerable
controversy.87 Although there is no
standard recognized rationale for why
combination epinephrine and dexamethasone would be synergistic in
infants with bronchiolitis, evidence in
adults and children older than 6
years with asthma shows that adding
inhaled long-acting β agonists to
moderate/high doses of inhaled corticosteroids allows reduction of the
corticosteroid dose by, on average,
60%.88 Basic science studies focused
on understanding the interaction between β agonists and corticosteroids
have shown potential mechanisms for
why simultaneous administration of
these drugs could be synergistic. 89–92
However, other bronchiolitis trials of
corticosteroids administered by using fixed simultaneous bronchodilator
regimens have not consistently
shown benefit93–97; hence, a recommendation regarding the benefit of
combined dexamethasone and epinephrine
therapy is premature.
The systematic review of corticosteroids in children with bronchiolitis
cited previously did not find any differences in short-term adverse events
as compared with placebo. 86 However,
corticosteroid therapy may prolong
viral shedding in patients with bronchiolitis. 17
In summary, a comprehensive systematic review and large multicenter
randomized trials provide clear evidence that corticosteroids alone do
not provide significant benefit to
children with bronchiolitis. Evidence
for potential benefit of combined
corticosteroid and agents with both
α- and β-agonist activity is at best
tentative, and additional large trials
are needed to clarify whether this
therapy is effective.
Further, although there is no evidence
of short-term adverse effects from
corticosteroid therapy, other than
prolonged viral shedding, in infants
and children with bronchiolitis, there
is inadequate evidence to be certain
of safety.
OXYGEN
Key Action Statement 6a
Clinicians may choose not to administer supplemental oxygen if the
oxyhemoglobin saturation exceeds
90% in infants and children with a
diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence
Quality: D; Recommendation Strength:
Weak Recommendation [based on
low-level evidence and reasoning
from first principles]).
Although oxygen saturation is a poor
predictor of respiratory distress, it is
associated closely with a perceived
need for hospitalization in infants with
bronchiolitis.98,99 Additionally, oxygen
saturation has been implicated as
a primary determinant of LOS in
bronchiolitis.40,100,101
Physiologic data based on the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve (Fig 3)
demonstrate that small increases in
arterial partial pressure of oxygen are
associated with marked improvement
in pulse oxygen saturation when the
latter is less than 90%; with pulse oxygen saturation readings greater than
90% it takes very large elevations in
arterial partial pressure of oxygen to
affect further increases. In infants and
children with bronchiolitis, no data exist
to suggest such increases result in any
clinically significant difference in physiologic function, patient symptoms, or
clinical outcomes. Although it is well
understood that acidosis, temperature,
and 2,3-diphosphoglutarate influence
the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve,
there has never been research to
demonstrate how those influences
practically affect infants with hypoxemia. The risk of hypoxemia must be
weighed against the risk of hospitalization when making any decisions
about site of care. One study of hospitalized children with bronchiolitis, for
example, noted a 10% adverse error or
near-miss rate for harm-causing interventions. 103 There are no studies on
the
effect of short-term, brief periods of
hypoxemia such as may be seen in
bronchiolitis. Transient hypoxemia is
common in healthy infants. 104 Travel of
healthy children even to moderate altitudes of 1300 m results in transient
sleep desaturation to an average of
84% with no known adverse consequences. 105 Although children with
chronic hypoxemia do incur developmental and behavioral problems,
children who suffer intermittent hypoxemia from diseases such as asthma
do not have impaired intellectual abilities or behavioral disturbance. 106–108
Supplemental oxygen provided for infants not requiring additional
respiratory support is best initiated with
nasal prongs, although exact measurement of fraction of inspired oxygen is
unreliable with this method.109
Pulse oximetry is a convenient method
to assess the percentage of hemoglobin bound by oxygen in children.
Pulse oximetry has been erroneously
used in bronchiolitis as a proxy for
respiratory distress. Accuracy of pulse
oximetry is poor, especially in the 76%
to 90% range.110 Further, it has been
well demonstrated that oxygen saturation has much less impact on
respiratory drive than carbon dioxide
concentrations in the blood. 111 There
is very poor correlation between respiratory distress and oxygen saturations
among infants with lower
respiratory tract infections.112 Other
than cyanosis, no published clinical
sign, model, or score accurately identifies hypoxemic children.113
Among children admitted for bronchiolitis, continuous pulse oximetry
measurement is not well studied and
potentially problematic for children who
do not require oxygen. Transient desaturation is a normal phenomenon in
healthy infants. In 1 study of 64 healthy
infants between 2 weeks and 6 months
of age, 60% of these infants exhibited
a transient oxygen desaturation below
90%, to values as low as 83%. 105 A retrospective study of the role of
continuous measurement of oxygenation in
infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis
found that 1 in 4 patients incur unnecessarily prolonged hospitalization as
a result of a perceived need for oxygen
outside of other symptoms40 and no
evidence of benefit was found.
Pulse oximetry is prone to errors of
measurement. Families of infants hospitalized with continuous pulse
oximeters
are exposed to frequent alarms that may negatively affect sleep. Alarm
fatigue is recognized by The Joint
Commission as a contributor toward
in-hospital morbidity and mortality.114
One adult study demonstrated very
poor documentation of hypoxemia alerts by pulse oximetry, an indicator
of alarm fatigue.115 Pulse oximetry
probes can fall off easily, leading to
inaccurate measurements and alarms.116
False reliance on pulse oximetry may
lead to less careful monitoring of respiratory status. In one study,
continuous pulse oximetry was associated
with increased risk of minor adverse
events in infants admitted to a general ward. 117 The pulse oximetry–
monitored patients were found to
have less-effective surveillance of their
severity of illness when controlling for
other variables.
There are a number of new approaches
to oxygen delivery in bronchiolitis, 2
of which are home oxygen and highfrequency nasal cannula. There is
emerging evidence for the role of home
oxygen in reducing LOS or admission
rate for infants with bronchiolitis, including 2 randomized trials. 118,119 Most
of the studies have been performed in
areas of higher altitude, where prolonged hypoxemia is a prime determinant
of LOS in the hospital. 120,121
Readmission rates may be moderately
higher in patients discharged with
home oxygen; however, overall hospital
use may be reduced,122 although not in
all settings.123 Concerns have been
raised that home pulse oximetry may
complicate care or confuse families. 124
Communication with follow-up physicians is important, because primary
care physicians may have difficulty determining safe pulse oximetry levels
for discontinuation of oxygen.125 Additionally, there may be an increased
demand for follow-up outpatient visits
associated with home oxygen use. 124
Use of humidified, heated, high-flow
nasal cannula to deliver air-oxygen
mixtures provides assistance to infants with bronchiolitis through multiple
proposed mechanisms.126 There
is evidence that high-flow nasal cannula improves physiologic measures
of respiratory effort and can generate
continuous positive airway pressure
in bronchiolitis.127–130 Clinical evidence
suggests it reduces work of breathing131,132 and may decrease need for
intubation,133–136 although studies are
generally retrospective and small. The
therapy has been studied in the ED 136,137
and the general inpatient setting, 134,138
as well as the ICU. The largest and most
rigorous retrospective study to date
was from Australia,138 which showed
a decline in intubation rate in the subgroup of infants with bronchiolitis (n =
330) from 37% to 7% after the introduction of high-flow nasal cannula,
while the national registry intubation
rate remained at 28%. A single pilot
for a randomized trial has been published to date. 139 Although promising,
the absence of any completed randomized trial of the efficacy of high-flow
nasal cannula in bronchiolitis precludes
specific recommendations on it use at
present. Pneumothorax is a reported
complication.
CHEST PHYSIOTHERAPY
Key Action Statement 7
Clinicians should not use chest physiotherapy for infants and children
with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation
Strength: Moderate Recommendation).
Airway edema, sloughing of respiratory
epithelium into airways, and generalized hyperinflation of the lungs, coupled
with poorly developed collateral ventilation, put infants with bronchiolitis at
risk for atelectasis. Although lobar atelectasis is not characteristic of this
disease, chest radiographs may show
evidence of subsegmental atelectasis,
prompting clinicians to consider ordering chest physiotherapy to promote
airway clearance. A Cochrane Review 140
found 9 randomized controlled trials
that evaluated chest physiotherapy in
hospitalized patients with bronchiolitis.
No clinical benefit was found by using
vibration or percussion (5 trials) 141–144
or passive expiratory techniques (4 trials). 145–148 Since that review, a study 149
of the passive expiratory technique
found a small, but significant reduction
in duration of oxygen therapy, but no
other benefits.
Suctioning of the nasopharynx to remove secretions is a frequent practice
in infants with bronchiolitis. Although
suctioning the nares may provide
temporary relief of nasal congestion
or upper airway obstruction, a retrospective study reported that deep
suctioning150 was associated with
longer LOS in hospitalized infants 2
to 12 months of age. The same study
also noted that lapses of greater
than 4 hours in noninvasive, external
nasal suctioning were also associated with longer LOS. Currently, there
are insufficient data to make a recommendation about suctioning, but
it appears that routine use of “deep”
suctioning151,153 may not be beneficial.
ANTIBACTERIALS
Key Action Statement 8
Clinicians should not administer
antibacterial medications to infants
and children with a diagnosis of
bronchiolitis unless there is a concomitant bacterial infection, or a
strong suspicion of one. (Evidence
Quality: B; Recommendation Strength:
Strong Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 8
Infants with bronchiolitis frequently receive antibacterial therapy because of
fever,152 young age,153 and concern for
secondary bacterial infection.154 Early
randomized controlled trials155,156
showed no benefit from routine antibacterial therapy for children with
bronchiolitis. Nonetheless, antibiotic
therapy continues to be overused in
young infants with bronchiolitis because
of concern for an undetected bacterial
infection. Studies have shown that febrile
infants without an identifiable source of
fever have a risk of bacteremia that may
be as high as 7%. However, a child with
a distinct viral syndrome, such as
bronchiolitis, has a lower risk (much
less than 1%) of bacterial infection of the
cerebrospinal fluid or blood.157
Ralston et al158 conducted a systematic
review of serious bacterial infections
(SBIs) occurring in hospitalized febrile
infants between 30 and 90 days of age
with bronchiolitis. Instances of bacteremia or meningitis were extremely
rare.
Enteritis was not evaluated. Urinary tract
infection occurred at a rate of approximately 1%, but asymptomatic
bacteriuria may have explained this finding. The
authors concluded routine screening for
SBI among hospitalized febrile infants
with bronchiolitis between 30 and 90
days of age is not justified. Limited data
suggest the risk of bacterial infection in
hospitalized infants with bronchiolitis
younger than 30 days of age is similar to
the risk in older infants. An abnormal
white blood cell count is not useful for
predicting a concurrent SBI in infants
and young children hospitalized with RSV
lower respiratory tract infection. 159 Several retrospective studies support this
conclusion.160–166 Four prospective studies of SBI in patients with bronchiolitis
and/or RSV infections also demonstrated
low rates of SBI.167–171
Approximately 25% of hospitalized infants with bronchiolitis have
radiographic evidence of atelectasis, and it
may be difficult to distinguish between
atelectasis and bacterial infiltrate or
consolidation.169 Bacterial pneumonia
in infants with bronchiolitis without
consolidation is unusual. 170 Antibiotic
therapy may be justified in some children with bronchiolitis who require
intubation and mechanical ventilation
for respiratory failure.172,173
Although acute otitis media (AOM) in
infants with bronchiolitis may be attributable to viruses, clinical features
generally do not permit differentiation of
viral AOM from those with a bacterial
component.174 Two studies address the
frequency of AOM in patients with
bronchiolitis. Andrade et al 175 prospectively identified AOM in 62% of 42
patients who presented with bronchiolitis. AOM was present in 50% on entry
to the study and developed in an additional 12% within 10 days. A
subsequent
report176 followed 150 children hospitalized for bronchiolitis for the
development of AOM. Seventy-nine (53%)
developed AOM, two-thirds within the first 2 days of hospitalization. AOM did
not influence the clinical course or
laboratory findings of bronchiolitis. The
current AAP guideline on AOM 177 recommends that a diagnosis of AOM
should include bulging of the tympanic
membrane. This is based on bulging
being the best indicator for the presence of bacteria in multiple
tympanocentesis studies and on 2 articles
comparing antibiotic to placebo therapy that used a bulging tympanic
membrane as a necessary part of the
diagnosis.178,179 New studies are needed
to determine the incidence of AOM in
bronchiolitis by using the new criterion
of bulging of the tympanic membrane.
Refer to the AOM guideline180 for recommendations regarding the
management of AOM.
NUTRITION AND HYDRATION
Key Action Statement 9
Clinicians should administer nasogastric or intravenous fluids for
infants with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis who cannot maintain hydration orally
(Evidence Quality: X;
Recommendation Strength: Strong
Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 9
The level of respiratory distress
attributable to bronchiolitis guides
the indications for fluid replacement.
Conversely, food intake in the previous
24 hours may be a predictor of oxygen
saturation among infants with bronchiolitis. One study found that food
intake at less than 50% of normal for the
previous 24 hours is associated with
a pulse oximetry value of <95%.180
Infants with mild respiratory distress
may require only observation, particularly if feeding remains unaffected.
When the respiratory rate exceeds 60
to 70 breaths per minute, feeding may
be compromised, particularly if nasal
secretions are copious. There is limited
evidence to suggest coordination of
breathing with swallowing may be
impaired among infants with bronchiolitis. 181 These infants may develop
increased nasal flaring, retractions,
and prolonged expiratory wheezing
when fed and may be at increased risk
of aspiration.182
One study estimated that one-third of
infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis
require fluid replacement.183 One
case series184 and 2 randomized
trials,185,186 examined the comparative efficacy and safety of the intravenous
and nasogastric routes
for fluid replacement. A pilot trial
in Israel that included 51 infants
younger than 6 months demonstrated no significant differences in
the duration of oxygen needed or
time to full oral feeds between
infants receiving intravenous 5%
dextrose in normal saline solution
or nasogastric breast milk or formula. 187 Infants in the intravenous
group had a shorter LOS (100 vs 120
hours) but it was not statistically
significant. In a larger open randomized trial including infants between 2
and 12 months of age and
conducted in Australia and New
Zealand, there were no significant
differences in rates of admission to
ICUs, need for ventilatory support,
and adverse events between 381
infants assigned to nasogastric hydration and 378 infants assigned to
intravenous hydration.188 There was
a difference of 4 hours in mean LOS
between the intravenous group (82.2
hours) and the nasogastric group
(86.2 hours) that was not statistically significant. The nasogastric
route had a higher success rate of
insertion than the intravenous
route. Parental satisfaction scores
did not differ between the intravenous and nasogastric groups.
These studies suggest that infants
who have difficulty feeding safely
because of respiratory distress can
receive either intravenous or nasogastric fluid replacement; however,
more evidence is needed to increase
the strength of this recommendation.
The possibility of fluid retention related to production of antidiuretic
hormone has been raised in patients
with bronchiolitis.187–189 Therefore,
receipt of hypotonic fluid replacement and maintenance fluids may
increase the risk of iatrogenic hyponatremia in these infants. A recent
meta-analysis demonstrated that among
hospitalized children requiring maintenance fluids, the use of hypotonic
fluids was associated with significant
hyponatremia compared with isotonic fluids in older children.190 Use
of isotonic fluids, in general, appears
to be safer.
PREVENTION
Key Action Statement 10a
Clinicians should not administer
palivizumab to otherwise healthy infants with a gestational age of 29
weeks, 0 days or greater (Evidence
Quality: B; Recommendation Strength:
Strong Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 10a
Key Action Statement 10b
Clinicians should administer palivizumab during the first year of
life to infants with hemodynamically significant heart disease or
chronic lung disease of prematurity defined as preterm infants
<32 weeks, 0 days’ gestation who
require >21% oxygen for at least
the first 28 days of life (Evidence
Quality: B; Recommendation Strength:
Moderate Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 10b
Key Action Statement 10c
Clinicians should administer a maximum 5 monthly doses (15 mg/kg/
dose) of palivizumab during the
RSV season to infants who qualify
for palivizumab in the first year
of life (Evidence Quality: B, Recommendation Strength: Moderate
Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 10c
Detailed evidence to support the policy
statement on palivizumab and this
palivizumab section can be found in the
technical report on palivizumab.192
Palivizumab was licensed by the US
Food and Drug Administration in June
1998 largely on the basis of results of 1
clinical trial.193 The results of a second
clinical trial among children with congenital heart disease were reported in
December 2003.194 No other prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled
trials have been conducted in any
subgroup. Since licensure of palivizumab, new peer-reviewed publications
provide greater insight into
the epidemiology of disease caused by
RSV.195–197 As a result of new data, the
Bronchiolitis Guideline Committee and
the Committee on Infectious Diseases
have updated recommendations for
use of prophylaxis.
PREMATURITY
Monthly palivizumab prophylaxis should
be restricted to infants born before 29
weeks, 0 days’ gestation, except for
infants who qualify on the basis of
congenital heart disease or chronic
lung disease of prematurity. Data
show that infants born at or after 29
weeks, 0 days’ gestation have an RSV
hospitalization rate similar to the rate
of full-term infants.11,198 Infants with
a gestational age of 28 weeks, 6 days
or less who will be younger than 12
months at the start of the RSV season should receive a maximum of 5
monthly doses of palivizumab or until
the end of the RSV season, whichever
comes first. Depending on the month
of birth, fewer than 5 monthly doses will provide protection for most infants
for the duration of the season.
CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE
Despite the large number of subjects
enrolled, little benefit from palivizumab prophylaxis was found in
the industry-sponsored cardiac study
among infants in the cyanotic group
(7.9% in control group versus 5.6% in
palivizumab group, or 23 fewer hospitalizations per1000 children; P =
.285).197 In the acyanotic group (11.8%
vs 5.0%), there were 68 fewer RSV
hospitalizations per 1000 prophylaxis
recipients (P = .003).197,199,200
CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE OF
PREMATURITY
Palivizumab prophylaxis should be
administered to infants and children
younger than 12 months who develop
chronic lung disease of prematurity,
defined as a requirement for 28 days
of more than 21% oxygen beginning
at birth. If a child meets these criteria and is in the first 24 months of
life and continues to require supplemental oxygen, diuretic therapy,
or chronic corticosteroid therapy
within 6 months of the start of the
RSV season, monthly prophylaxis should
be administered for the remainder of
the season.
NUMBER OF DOSES
Community outbreaks of RSV disease
usually begin in November or December,
peak in January or February, and end by
late March or, at times, in April. 4 Figure 1
shows the 2011–2012 bronchiolitis season, which is typical of most years.
Because 5 monthly doses will provide
more than 24 weeks of protective serum palivizumab concentration,
administration of more than 5 monthly doses
is not recommended within the continental United States. For infants who
qualify for 5 monthly doses, initiation of
prophylaxis in November and continuation for a total of 5 doses will provide
protection into April.201 If prophylaxis is
initiated in October, the fifth and final
dose should be administered in February, and protection will last into March
for most children.
SECOND YEAR OF LIFE
Because of the low risk of RSV hospitalization in the second year of life,
palivizumab prophylaxis is not recommended for children in the second year
of life with the following exception.
Children who satisfy the definition of
chronic lung disease of infancy and
continue to require supplemental oxygen, chronic corticosteroid therapy,
or diuretic therapy within 6 months
of the onset of the second RSV season may be considered for a second
season of prophylaxis.
OTHER CONDITIONS
Insufficient data are available to recommend routine use of prophylaxis in
children with Down syndrome, cystic
fibrosis, pulmonary abnormality, neuromuscular disease, or immune
compromise.
Down Syndrome
Routine use of prophylaxis for children
in the first year of life with Down
syndrome is not recommended unless
the child qualifies because of cardiac
disease or prematurity.202
Cystic Fibrosis
Routine use of palivizumab prophylaxis
in patients with cystic fibrosis is not
recommended.203,204 Available studies
indicate the incidence of RSV hospitalization in children with cystic fibrosis
is low and unlikely to be different from
children without cystic fibrosis. No evidence suggests a benefit from
palivizumab prophylaxis in patients with
cystic fibrosis. A randomized clinical
trial involving 186 children with cystic
fibrosis from 40 centers reported 1
subject in each group was hospitalized
because of RSV infection. Although this
study was not powered for efficacy, no
clinically meaningful differences in
outcome were reported.205 A survey of
cystic fibrosis center directors published in 2009 noted that palivizumab
prophylaxis is not the standard of care
for patients with cystic fibrosis.206 If
a neonate is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis by newborn screening, RSV
prophylaxis should not be administered if no other indications are present. A
patient with cystic fibrosis with
clinical evidence of chronic lung disease in the first year of life may be
considered for prophylaxis.
Neuromuscular Disease and
Pulmonary Abnormality
The risk of RSV hospitalization is not
well defined in children with pulmonary
abnormalities or neuromuscular disease that impairs ability to clear
secretions from the lower airway because of ineffective cough, recurrent
gastroesophageal tract reflux, pulmonary malformations,
tracheoesophageal
fistula, upper airway conditions, or
conditions requiring tracheostomy. No
data on the relative risk of RSV hospitalization are available for this cohort.
Selected infants with disease or congenital anomaly that impairs their
ability to clear secretions from the
lower airway because of ineffective
cough may be considered for prophylaxis during the first year of life.
Immunocompromised Children
Population-based data are not available on the incidence or severity of RSV
hospitalization in children who undergo solid organ or hematopoietic
stem cell transplantation, receive
chemotherapy, or are immunocompromised because of other conditions.
Prophylaxis may be considered for
hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients who undergo transplantation
and are profoundly immunosuppressed during the RSV season. 207
MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
Prophylaxis is not recommended for
prevention of nosocomial RSV disease
in the NICU or hospital setting.208,209
No evidence suggests palivizumab is
a cost-effective measure to prevent
recurrent wheezing in children. Prophylaxis should not be administered
to reduce recurrent wheezing in later
years.210,211
Monthly prophylaxis in Alaska Native
children who qualify should be determined by locally generated data
regarding season onset and end.
Continuation of monthly prophylaxis
for an infant or young child who experiences breakthrough RSV
hospitalization is not recommended.
HAND HYGIENE
Key Action Statement 11a
All people should disinfect hands
before and after direct contact
with patients, after contact with
inanimate objects in the direct vicinity of the patient, and after removing
gloves (Evidence Quality: B;
Recommendation Strength: Strong
Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 11a
Key Action Statement 11b
All people should use alcohol-based
rubs for hand decontamination when
caring for children with bronchiolitis. When alcohol-based rubs are
not available, individuals should
wash their hands with soap and
water (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Strong
Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 11b
Efforts should be made to decrease the
spread of RSV and other causative
agents of bronchiolitis in medical
settings, especially in the hospital.
Secretions from infected patients can
be found on beds, crib railings, tabletops, and toys. 12 RSV, as well as
many other viruses, can survive better
on hard surfaces than on porous
surfaces or hands. It can remain infectious on counter tops for ≥6 hours,
on gowns or paper tissues for 20
to 30 minutes, and on skin for up to
20 minutes.212
It has been shown that RSV can be carried
and spread to others on the hands of
caregivers.213 Studies have shown that
health care workers have acquired infection by performing activities such as
feeding, diaper change, and playing
with the RSV-infected infant. Caregivers
who had contact only with surfaces
contaminated with the infants’ secretions or touched inanimate objects in
patients’ rooms also acquired RSV. In
these studies, health care workers
contaminated their hands (or gloves)
with RSV and inoculated their oral or
conjunctival mucosa.214 Frequent hand
washing by health care workers has
been shown to reduce the spread of
RSV in the health care setting. 215
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention published an extensive review of the hand-hygiene literature and
made recommendations as to indications for hand washing and hand
antisepsis.216 Among the recommendations are that hands should be
disinfected before and after direct
contact with every patient, after contact with inanimate objects in the direct
vicinity of the patient, and before
putting on and after removing gloves.
If hands are not visibly soiled, an
alcohol-based rub is preferred. In
guidelines published in 2009, the
World Health Organization also recommended alcohol-based hand-rubs
as the standard for hand hygiene in
health care.217 Specifically, systematic
reviews show them to remove organisms more effectively, require less
time, and irritate skin less often than
hand washing with soap or other antiseptic agents and water. The
availability
of bedside alcohol-based solutions increased compliance with hand hygiene
among health care workers.214
When caring for hospitalized children
with clinically diagnosed bronchiolitis, strict adherence to hand
decontamination and use of personal
protective equipment (ie, gloves and
gowns) can reduce the risk of crossinfection in the health care setting.
Other methods of infection control in
viral bronchiolitis include education of
personnel and family members, surveillance for the onset of RSV season,
and
wearing masks when anticipating exposure to aerosolized secretions while
performing patient care activities. Programs that implement the
aforementioned principles, in conjunction with
effective hand decontamination and
cohorting of patients, have been shown
to reduce the spread of RSV in the
health care setting by 39% to 50%.218,219
TOBACCO SMOKE
Key Action Statement 12a
Clinicians should inquire about the
exposure of the infant or child to
tobacco smoke when assessing
infants and children for bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: C; Recommendation
Strength: Moderate
Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 12a
Key Action Statement 12b
Clinicians should counsel caregivers about exposing the infant or
child to environmental tobacco
smoke and smoking cessation
when assessing a child for bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B;
Recommendation Strength: Strong
Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 12b
Tobacco smoke exposure increases the
risk and severity of bronchiolitis. Strachan and Cook 220 first delineated the
effects of environmental tobacco smoke
on rates of lower respiratory tract disease in infants in a meta-analysis
including 40 studies. In a more recent
systematic review, Jones et al 221 found
a pooled odds ratio of 2.51 (95% CI 1.96
to 3.21) for tobacco smoke exposure
and bronchiolitis hospitalization among
the 7 studies specific to the condition.
Other investigators have consistently
reported tobacco smoke exposure
increases both severity of illness and
risk of hospitalization for bronchiolitis. 222–225 The AAP issued a technical
report on the risks of secondhand
smoke in 2009. The report makes recommendations regarding effective
ways
to eliminate or reduce secondhand
smoke exposure, including education of
parents.226
Despite our knowledge of this important risk factor, there is evidence to
suggest health care providers identify
fewer than half of children exposed to
tobacco smoke in the outpatient, inpatient, or ED settings. 227–229
Furthermore, there is evidence that
counseling parents in these settings is
well received and has a measurable
impact. Rosen et al230 performed a
meta-analysis of the effects of interventions in pediatric settings on parental
cessation and found a pooled
risk ratio of 1.3 for cessation among
the 18 studies reviewed.
In contrast to many of the other
recommendations, protecting children from tobacco exposure is
a recommendation that is primarily
implemented outside of the clinical
setting. As such, it is critical that
parents are fully educated about the
importance of not allowing smoking
in the home and that smoke lingers
on clothes and in the environment
for prolonged periods.231 It should
be provided in plain language and
in a respectful, culturally effective
manner that is family centered, engages parents as partners in their
child’s health, and factors in their
literacy, health literacy, and primary
language needs.
BREASTFEEDING
Key Action Statement 13
Clinicians should encourage exclusive
breastfeeding for at least 6 months
to decrease the morbidity of respiratory infections (Evidence Quality:
Grade B; Recommendation Strength:
Moderate Recommendation).
In 2012, the AAP presented a general
policy on breastfeeding.232 The policy
statement was based on the proven
benefits of breastfeeding for at least 6
months. Respiratory infections were
shown to be significantly less common
in breastfed children. A primary resource was a meta-analysis from the
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality that showed an overall 72%
reduction in the risk of hospitalization
secondary to respiratory diseases in
infants who were exclusively breastfed
for 4 or more months compared with
those who were formula fed.233
The clinical evidence also supports
decreased incidence and severity of
illness in breastfed infants with bronchiolitis. Dornelles et al 234 concluded
that the duration of exclusive breastfeeding was inversely related to the
length of oxygen use and the length of
hospital stay in previously healthy
infants with acute bronchiolitis. In
a large prospective study in Australia,
Oddy et al235 showed that breastfeeding
for less than 6 months was associated
with an increased risk for 2 or more
medical visits and hospital admission
for wheezing lower respiratory illness.
In Japan, Nishimura et al 236 looked
at 3 groups of RSV-positive infants
defined as full, partial, or token breastfeeding. There were no significant
differences in the hospitalization rate
among the 3 groups; however, there
were significant differences in the
duration of hospitalization and the
rate of requiring oxygen therapy, both
favoring breastfeeding.
FAMILY EDUCATION
Key Action Statement 14
Clinicians and nurses should educate personnel and family members on
evidence-based diagnosis,
treatment, and prevention in
bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: C;
observational studies; Recommendation Strength; Moderate
Recommendation).
Action Statement Profile KAS 14
Shared decision-making with parents
about diagnosis and treatment of
bronchiolitis is a key tenet of patientcentered care. Despite the absence of
effective therapies for viral bronchiolitis, caregiver education by clinicians
may have a significant impact on care
patterns in the disease. Children with
bronchiolitis typically suffer from
symptoms for 2 to 3 weeks, and
parents often seek care in multiple
settings during that time period. 237
Given that children with RSV generally shed virus for 1 to 2 weeks and
from 30% to 70% of family members
may become ill,238,239 education about
prevention of transmission of disease
is key. Restriction of visitors to newborns during the respiratory virus
season should be considered. Consistent evidence suggests that parental
education is helpful in the
promotion of judicious use of antibiotics and that clinicians may misinterpret
parental expectations about
therapy unless the subject is openly
discussed.