Background:

Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infants. Respiratory Syncytial Virus is the main agent and responds in up to 85% of cases. The main associated risk factors are: male sex, young infants, premature infants, underlying medical conditions such as: congenital heart disease, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, Down syndrome and neuromuscular diseases; as well as other environmental and social factors. The objective of this study was to characterize preterm infants, the treatment used, the viral immunofluorescence profile, complications, the use of palivizumab, and hospitalization costs in patients hospitalized for bronchiolitis during January 2011 and December 2011.

Methods:

An observational, descriptive study, based on a retrospective review of clinical records of a series of hospitalized patients at the National Children’s Hospital (HNN) of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund. All patients under 2 years of age who were discharged with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis during 2011, with a history of prematurity (less than 37 weeks gestational age) were included.

Results:

A total of 141 patients were included, 63% (n = 89) were male, with an average age of 5.7 months (range 0-24). 43% (n = 61) of patients with Bronchiolitis manifested before 3 months of age. With regard to gestational age, it was found that 35.46% of the patients were between 32 and 35 weeks, 31.2% from 35 to 37 weeks, 19.86% from 30 to 32 weeks and the rest were under 29 weeks. In 93 children (66%) a history of smoking was noted in the home environment; specifically, 17% of these patients had a history of passive smoking as the father or grandfather was reported as active smokers. In relation to the hereditary family history of asthma, it was positive in 41.8%. Regarding the treatment received during their hospitalization, 100% required supplemental oxygen and 61% received nebulizations with salbutamol; systemic steroids were used in 33% of patients and antibiotic therapy was used in only 29%. 28% of the population studied presented complications, of which 28 (19.86%) premature babies required ventilatory support. The finding of atelectasis on the chest X-ray occurred in 7.8% of the patients. Only 4.25% of the patients had a bacterial superinfection. Due to the difficulty of the venous access in this group of children, 14 (9.93%) of them required the placement of a central venous catheter. The range of hospital stay was from 1 to 31 days with an average of 7 days, hospitalization in the Intensive Care Unit reached a range of 5 to 18 days with an average of 10 days and the average need for assisted mechanical ventilation It was 8.2 days and the high-flow cannula was 2.8 days. Only 6.38% (n = 9) had a history of having received prophylaxis with Palivizumab, the majority had received more than two doses, and none of the patients had completed the 5-dose schedule. During that year 2011, the hospital reported that the average daily cost was ¢ 766 476; With a total of 1001 cumulative hospitalization days, a total direct cost of ¢ 767 242 142 was estimated, equivalent to $ 1 522 306 (US dollars).

Conclusion:

The profile of the characteristics of premature infants in this study is very similar to that reported internationally, as it is a group of premature infants with a higher prevalence of complications than the general pediatric population. Given the cost involved in the hospitalization of these patients, it is necessary to evaluate the application of interventions such as palivizumab to prevent hospitalization and reduce other costs to the solidarity health system.