3.1, Subjects profile
Of the 55 patients hospitalized with RSV-induced respiratory tract infections, 38 were diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis at less than two years of age (male: female = 18: 20, median age=3 months old). All patients were negative for COVID-19 and had no history of recurrent wheezing and asthma. After discharge, 5 of the 38 patients were not able to revisit our hospital due to family reasons. The comparison of data between the acute phase and the recovery phase was thus performed for 33 subjects (males: females = 14: 19, median age=2 months old)(Figure 1).
A history of food allergy was present in 3 (9.1%) and atopic dermatitis was reported in 2 (6.1%). On admission, a fever was present in 24 patients (72.7%) and cough in 31 patients (93.9%) (Table 1). Chest X-ray revealed pneumonia in 8 patients (24.2%) of the patients. Chest auscultation by a pediatric specialists showed wheezes and/or rhonchi in all patients. Chest radiographs showed some degree of evidence of hyperinflation in both lungs in all patients.
The median time between the first and second measurements of breath sounds was 10 days. Chest auscultation by the pediatric specialists revealed no respiratory adventitious sounds in any patients at the outpatient booth.