Table 1. Characteristics of patients presenting with acute bronchiolitis episodes, by study period and in relation to the American Academy of Pediatrics clinical practice guideline on bronchiolitis [3].
| Patient characteristics | Period 1 (2010–2012) | Period 2 (2015–2016) | Period 3 (2017–2018) | p-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | n | n | |||||
| Age, months | 434 | 5.5 (2.7 to 7.8) | 216 | 5.0 (2.0 to 8.0) | 313 | 5.2 (2.6 to 7.7) | 0.6 |
| Sex, female | 434 | 145 (33.4) | 216 | 92 (42.6) | 313 | 138 (44.1) | 0.006 |
| Prematurity | 434 | 28 (6.5) | 206 | 24 (11.7) | 285 | 25 (8.8) | 0.08 |
| Personal history of atopy | 434 | 15 (3.5) | 216 | 13 (6.0) | 313 | 14 (4.5) | 0.3 |
| Family history of atopy | 155 | 76 (49.0) | 30 | 21 (70.0) | 47 | 18 (38.3) | 0.03 |
| Duration of symptoms at presentation, days | 431 | 2 (1 to 3) | 213 | 3 (2 to 4) | 297 | 3 (2 to 4) | <0.001 |
| Moderate or severe retractions | 434 | 168 (38.7) | 216 | 127 (58.8) | 313 | 195 (62.3) | <0.001 |
| Wheezing | 434 | 193 (44.5) | 216 | 103 (47.7) | 313 | 128 (40.9) | 0.3 |
| Tachypnoea | 432 | 276 (63.9) | 214 | 125 (58.4) | 310 | 180 (58.1) | 0.2 |
| Oxygen saturation at presentation, % | 425 | 97 (95 to 99) | 209 | 97 (95 to 99) | 302 | 97 (96 to 99) | 0.3 |
| Hospitalization | 434 | 128 (29.5) | 216 | 82 (38.0) | 313 | 112 (35.8) | 0.06 |
| ICU admission | 434 | 13 (3.0) | 216 | 15 (6.9) | 313 | 14 (4.5) | 0.07 |
| Length of stay in hospitalized subjects, days | 128 | 4.1 (2.9 to 5.9) | 82 | 4.2 (2.2 to 7.2) | 112 | 4.6 (2.8 to 6.8) | 0.9 |
| Required oxygen supplementation | 434 | 107 (24.7) | 216 | 45 (20.8) | 313 | 70 (22.4) | 0.5 |
| Required nasogastric tube | 434 | 65 (15.0) | 216 | 50 (23.1) | 313 | 65 (22.4) | 0.02 |
| Otitis media | 434 | 71 (16.4) | 216 | 33 (15.3) | 313 | 49 (15.7) | 0.9 |
| Pneumonia | 434 | 5 (1.2) | 216 | 3 (1.4) | 313 | 2 (0.6) | 0.7 |
Categorical variables are reported as number (%), continuous variables are reported as median (interquartile range).
AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics.