Acute Bronchiolitis: A Study of 207 Cases

Acute bronchiolitis is an important clinical syndrome seen in infants and young children. It is most common in infants between the ages of two and seven months. The disease is characterized by recurrent epidemics during which a large number of cases are seen over a period of one to two months. The presenting history is usually dominated by the symptom of cough. Physical examination reveals an acutely ill infant with a characteristic cough, labored respirations, an emphysematous chest, and high-pitched expiratory wheezes. The clinical course is typically characterized by severe respiratory difficulty for one to two days followed by sudden improvement. Respiratory embarrassment is sometimes extreme and on rare occasions fatal. The etiology most often appears to be infection with a viral agent.