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Arterial blood gas analysis is a marker of the severity of acute bronchiolitis

Background Acute bronchiolitis is a common lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children, primarily caused by viral agents such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It is characterized by inflammation, edema and mucus production in the bronchioles, leading to airway obstruction and respiratory distress. This study was done to assess the status of arterial blood gas in children with acute bronchiolitis admitted to the hospital.

Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Pediatric Department of ICMH, Matuail, Dhaka, from February 2020 to January 2021. All Children of both sexes with ages below 2 years admitted to the pediatric department diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis were enrolled in the study. A total of 52 children were selected as study subjects by purposive sampling technique. Data were entered using a statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 21. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results Among the 52 acute bronchiolitis cases, 25% were mild, 53.8% moderate and 21.2% severe. All patients had cough, runny nose, respiratory distress and tachypnea, while cyanosis was seen only in severe cases. The mean respiratory rate, heart rate and SpO₂ were 73.34±6.82 b/m, 149.25±7.05 b/m and 90.59±6.10%, respectively. ABG analysis showed mean PO₂ of 124.98±56.78 mmHg and O₂ saturation of 95.30±9.37%, both significantly lower in severe cases (p<0.01), indicating a strong association with disease severity.

Conclusions The majority of admitted acute bronchiolitis cases were of moderate severity, with over one-fifth classified as severe. A significant variation in partial pressure of oxygen and oxygen saturation was noted across different severity grades, indicating a clear association between these respiratory parameters and the clinical severity of acute bronchiolitis.