clinical features
Last edited 08/2021 and last reviewed 08/2021
It occurs in children under 2 years of age and most commonly in the first year of life, peaking between 3 and 6 months.
- symptoms usually peak between 3 and 5 days, and that cough resolves in 90%
of infants within 3 weeks
- bronchiolitis can be diagnosed if the child has a coryzal prodrome lasting 1 to 3 days, followed by:
- persistent cough and either tachypnoea or chest recession (or both)
- and either wheeze or crackles on chest auscultation (or both)
- following symptoms are common in children with this disease:
- fever (in around 30% of cases, usually of less than 39°C)
- poor feeding (typically after 3 to 5 days of illness)
- young infants with this disease (in particular those under 6 weeks of age)
may present with apnoea without other clinical signs
- in a mild illness the child may improve. However in some cases the condition progresses with increasing breathlessness, wheeze, cyanosis and pyrexia
- in severe illness on examination the child has rapid, laboured breathing,
tachycardia, gross lung hyperinflation producing a barrel-shaped chest, prominent
neck veins and downward displacement of the liver. Auscultation reveals widespread
wheeze and crepitations over both lung fields. There is increased expiratory
time
- consider a diagnosis of pneumonia if the child has:
- high fever (over 39°C)
- and/or persistently focal crackles
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