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.