Aetiology and Management of Bronchiolitis and Pneumonia in Childhood

Abstract

Virological studies of 106 children with bronchiolitis and 45 with pneumonia are reported. Viruses regarded as responsible for the disease were identified in 62 % of the cases of bronchiolitis, R.S.V. being the dominant agent. Evidence of virus infection was also found in 42% of the children with pneumonia. Bacteriological studies of cough swabs taken on admission from 39 of the cases of bronchiolitis and 26 of those with pneumonia are reported. Pathogenic bacteria were isolated from a minority and their incidence did not exceed figures available for healthy children. No evidence was found for the view that Haemophilus influenzae plays a part in the aetiology of bronchiolitis. Clinical and bacteriological evidence together would suggest that Staph. aureus is the chief bacterial hazard. The scarcity of information about secondary bacterial infection and the causes of death in bronchiolitis is stressed. An appraisal has been attempted of present attitudes to therapy, and suggestions are made for a more discriminating approach for the use of antibiotics in the treatment of bronchiolitis. © 1965, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.