CORELLATION OF
FEVER AND SEVERITY OF CLINICAL COURSE IN BRONCHIOLITIS
Tsagris V, Korovesi P, Manakou N,
Trikka-Grafakos E, Papadaki E
Thriasio General Hospital, Athens, Greece
Acute bronchiolitis
is a common disease of the lower respiratory tract that occurs most
commonly during the first 2 years of life. Being predominantly a viral
illness, it results from inflammatory obstruction of the small airways. So
far, little attention has been given to the relation between fever and the
severity of the clinical course.
Objective: A
retrospective study was carried out to assess the extent of fever in
bronchiolitis, whether the clinical course differs between febrile and
afebrile infants and whether there is a correlation between radiological
findings and disease severity.
Methods: 58 infants
(36 boys and 22 girls) with bronchiolitis were studied. The RSV antigen was
the only virus tested for and found positive in 21 children (36.2%).
Results: Fever was
present in 22 children (37.9%) and was associated with prolonged
hospitalization, more severe clinical course and high incidence of
radiological abnormalities in chest x-rays. Radiological abnormalities per
se, mainly segmental/lobar collapse with consolidation, were found in 54%
of the febrile group.
Conclusion: Our
study suggests that children with bronchiolitis and fever are expected to
present with a more severe clinical course.