Direct contact with sick poultry, young age, pneumonia and lymphopenia, and acute respiratory distress syndrome should prompt specific laboratory testing for H5 influenza.

Controversy over the efficacy of systemic corticosteroids for acute bronchiolitis initiated this study. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to examine the efficacy of single dexamethasone injection for the treatment of acute bronchiolitis in young hospitalized children. The study, performed at the pediatric wards of a University Hospital and its affiliated hospital in Thailand, included 174 previously healthy children under 2 years of age, hospitalized with acute bronchiolitis. Each child received either a single intramuscular injection of 0.6 mg/kg dexamethasone or a placebo in addition to regular management. The primary outcome was the time from study entry to resolution of respiratory distress, determined by a clinical score derived from the respiratory rate, occurrence of wheezing, chest retraction, and oxygen saturation. Survival analysis using the Kaplan-Meier method and a log-rank test were performed. A single-dose, dexamethasone injection versus placebo produced a significant: (1) decrease in the time needed for resolution of respiratory distress (hazard ratio 1.56; 95% CI, 1.14-2.13; P = 0.005), (2) decrease in the mean duration of symptoms of 11.8 hr (95% CI, 3.9-19.7; P = 0.004), (3) decrease in the mean duration of oxygen therapy of 14.9 hr (95% CI, 5.3-24.4; P = 0.003), and (4) decrease in the mean length of hospital stay of 13.4 hr (95%CI, 2.6-24.2; P = 0.02). In conclusion, a single injection of dexamethasone yielded a significant clinical benefit for the treatment of previously healthy, young children hospitalized with acute bronchiolitis.