Risk factors for bronchiolitis

Abstract

Background: Bronchiolitis is a common acute respiratory illness with significant morbidity and mortality in children aged <2 years. Many risk factors have been proposed though none conclusively proven. Objective: The objective of the study is to determine the risk factors for bronchiolitis in children aged <24 months. Methodology: This was a retrospective study conducted at Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubli, from July to September 2018 on children aged <24 months, with clinically diagnosed bronchiolitis considered as cases and age-matched children admitted during the same period for nonrespiratory causes as controls. Results: Totally, 85 children and 91 controls were included in the study with a mean age at presentation being 5.5 months (interquartile range = 2–8 months) and male‑to‑female ratio of 1.42:1. The most common symptoms were cough (98.8%), fever (84.7%), cold (64.7%), hurried breathing (58.8%), chest indrawing (42.2%), and noisy breathing (35.3%). On univariate analysis, low socioeconomic status (SES), overcrowding, unimmunized status, exposure to pets, and birth by cesarean section (CS) were significant risk factors. On applying multiple logistic regression (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval), low SES, unimmunized status, exposure to pets, and birth by CS were found to be significant. Conclusion: Low SES, partial/unimmunized status, exposure to pets, and birth by CS were deduced to be important significant risk factors for bronchiolitis.