Bronchiolitis is inflammation of the small airways in the lungs. Acute bronchiolitis is due to a viral infection usually affecting children younger than two years of age.[5] Symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, wheezing, and breathing problems.[1] More severe cases may be associated with nasal flaring, grunting, or the skin between the ribs pulling in with breathing.[1] If the child has not been able to feed properly, signs of dehydration may be present.[1]
About 10% to 30% of children under the age of two years are affected by bronchiolitis at some point in time.[1][2] It commonly occurs in the winter in the Northern Hemisphere.[1] It is the leading cause of hospitalizations in those less than one year of age in the United States.[10][7] The risk of death among those who are admitted to hospital is about 1%.[4] Outbreaks of the condition were first described in the 1940s.[11]
^ abHancock DG, Charles-Britton B, Dixon DL, Forsyth KD (September 2017). "The heterogeneity of viral bronchiolitis: A lack of universal consensus definitions". Pediatric Pulmonology. 52 (9): 1234–1240. doi:10.1002/ppul.23750. PMID28672069. S2CID3454691.
^ abAli A, Plint AC, Klassen TP (2012). "Bronchiolitis". In Kendig EL, Wilmott RW, Boat TF, Bush A, Chernick V (eds.). Kendig and Chernick's Disorders of the Respiratory Tract in Children. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 450. ISBN978-1437719840.
^Graham BS, Anderson LJ (2013). Challenges and Opportunities for Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. Vol. 372. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 391–404. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-38919-1_20. ISBN9783642389191. PMC7121045. PMID24362701.