Participants
Four PICUs in Italy contributed to the study - Bambino Gesù Children’s
Hospital, General and Emergency Department PICU, Rome; Papa Giovanni
XXIII Hospital PICU, Bergamo; and Meyer Hospital PICU, Florence.
The inclusion criteria for this study were as follows: severe
bronchiolitis diagnosed according to a bronchiolitis severity score
(BSS)15 greater than 2; admission to a PICU for
respiratory support; corrected gestational age between 38 weeks and 18
months; no more than 72 hours of HFNC or O2 therapy by
nasal cannulas; arterial blood line in place. Patients’ parents were
required to provide written consent prior to study participation.
Exclusion criteria for this study were the presence of congenital
malformations in upper airways, congenital inborn errors of metabolism,
cyanotic congenital heart diseases, immunodeficiencies, neonatal or
postnatal neurologic disorders, and the presence or suspicion of
pneumothorax on chest radiograph or lung ultrasound.