Today I would like to talk to you of an interesting news: "Bronchiolitis is the most frequent cause of hospitalization in children under one year".
The fall in temperatures brings the proliferation of respiratory diseases such as bronchiolitis, which mainly affects babies and it is often a collapse, in pediatric consultations and emergencies. Not surprisingly, it is the most frequent cause of hospitalization, in children under one year.
It is a viral infection of the lower respiratory tract, which "becomes inflamed and narrowed, so that it is difficult to pass air and an inflammatory obstruction occurs", as the specialist, Carmen Temboury, at the Vithas Nuestra Señora de América Hospital of Madrid, has explained.
Nuestra Señora de America Hospital
Unlike bronchitis, which can occur at any age and affects the bronchi, to large airways, bronchiolitis affects the terminal bronchus and bronchioles, which are the final airways, with small size.
Between 60% and 80% of the cases are due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and, although it affects children under 2 years of age, it can also infect older children or even adults, resulting in catarrhal disease. However, infants less than three months old, it may be severe, especially if they have respiratory or cardiac disease or if they have been premature.
The infection is transmitted by respiratory secretions, cough, sneezing and also, indirectly, by contamination of the surfaces. In fact, this makes the risk of contagion in nurseries very high.
"Respiratory isolation and handwashing, as well as cleaning measures, are important", says Dr. Temboury, who acknowledges that tobacco and pollution can also aggravate the course of the disease.
The diagnosis is mainly clinical and initially it is followed by a catarrh of highways which, in 2 or 3 days, also affects the lower respiratory tract, producing cough, fever, secretions, progressive respiratory distress, tachypnea and decreased oxygen saturation in the blood. In addition, it causes difficulty feeding and rejection of the doses, in the case of babies.
In many cases, hospitalization is necessary, especially in children under three months. In these cases, the frequency and labor of breathing, the colour of the child and the difficulty of feeding are aspects that guide the pediatrician, about the need for admission, with the help of oxygen saturation and gasometry.
The treatment is symptomatic and aims to maintain the hydration and nutrition of the child and improve oxygenation, and the infection does not produce complete or lasting immunity. "In the case of infants, reinfections and sequelae, such as recurrent bronchitis and asthma, are frequent", Temboury has emphasised.
Well, I hope that you have liked this article.
Until my next post, kind regards,
Luis.
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