Evaluating Predisposition Factors of Infants Presenting with Recurrent Bronchiolitis Episodes in İstanbul Bağcılar

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe American Academy of Pediatrics defines bronchiolitis as respiratory distress and wheezing that develops following the diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infection in children under two years of age. It is an inflammatory disease of the small airways that develops due to viral factors (1). Bronchiolitis is the most frequent cause of admissions to child emergency services and hospitalizations in the winter and spring months (2). While premature labor, underlying chronic pulmonary diseases such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia and cystic fibrosis or reactive airway disease, congenital heart disease, immunodeficiency and immunosuppression cases, and Down syndrome constitute the main risk factors, age of infants below six months, smoking exposure, atopy history, malnutrition, low birth weight, male gender, lower socioeconomic status, and crowded living conditions constitute additional risk factors (3,4). Although the duration of the disease is short and patients recover on their own in most cases, it requires hospitalization, especially in young children with high risk and patients with suppressed immunity, and it causes significant morbidity and mortality. While the mortality rate in bronchiolitis was found to be 0.5% in conducted studies, it was reported that this ratio exceeds 3% in patients with risk factors (5). Knowing the risk factors in acute bronchiolitis and taking steps in this direction bear great importance in terms of the health and development of infants. This study has been conducted to evaluate the predisposing factors in our patients who were treated for bronchiolitis. METHODSIn the study, face to face surveys were applied to parents of 220 children admitted to the emergency service and diagnosed with bronchiolitis between the dates of September 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. It is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The mothers and fathers participating in the application were given enlightening information about the purpose and importance of the study; thus, the study was based on their voluntary participation. The data were obtained from questionnaires applied by the researcher. The survey form contained questions regarding the number of rooms in the house the patient lives in and the number of people living at home, the ages of the parents, the smoking status, education, and occupations of the parents, and the average income of the family. The duration of the child's breastfeeding, whether or not the child had seizures, and the seasons in which the children were admitted to the hospital due to seizures were questioned. The height and weight of the children were measured. Evaluating Predisposition Factors of Infants Presenting with Recurrent Bronchiolitis Episodes in İstanbul Bağcılar ABSTRACTObjective: Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract disease in infants. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between predisposing factors and the number of applications to a hospital because of recurrent episodes of bronchiolitis.Methods: A questionnaire was admi...