Treatment of Infants Admitted With Acute Bronchiolitis and its Comparison with Modern Treatment Methods in the Only University Hospital in Rafsanjan

Background: Various treatment approaches are used in different centers to treat infant bronchiolitis, some of which are not indicated and are not based on strong scientific evidence. W aimed to evaluate the treatment of admitted infants with acute bronchiolitis in the only medical hospital in Rafsanjan and compare it with modern treatment methods. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 100 infants admitted to Ali-Ibn Abi Talib hospital in Rafsanjan, southern Iran. Demographic information and risk factors, including age, birth weight, history of exposure to cigarette smoke, and other factors affecting this disease, and all therapeutic measures were collected in a researcher-made checklist. The data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 20, and the treatment was compared to the latest clinical guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and England National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and Cochrane meta-analyses. Results: 79%, 37%, 41%, and 3% of the children received antibiotics, corticosteroids, bronchodilators, and epinephrine, respectively. The most important risk factors were smoking in parents (91%), malnutrition (60%), low birth weight (71%), male sex (62%), and being born in autumn (60%). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, there is a large gap between treatment approaches and up-to-date and valid international guidelines. Therefore, compiling local treatment and care instructions for these patients to be used in medical centers would be useful.