CONCLUSION
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) may have limited the sample size
since one of the PICU became a reference in pediatric treatment for this
disease simultaneously to the focus of bronchiolitis, and the number of
beds was allocated and reduced for other respiratory diseases. Also,
social distancing reduced the exposure to etiological agents of
bronchiolitis since the children did not go to schools or daycare
centers, and some parents performed home office, reducing the cases
between 2020 and 2021.
In conclusion, RSV was the main causative agent of bronchiolitis.
Prematurity, male gender, low weight, age below six months, and
congenital heart disease were associated with severe bronchiolitis that
tended to progress with ARF and especially
SARS. IMV was beneficial for
children with severe bronchiolitis since it reduced mortality and
improved clinical condition. However, bronchiolitis is still
challenging, requiring protocols and multidisciplinary teamwork to
minimize the morbidity caused by this disease and IMV.
Thus, further studies need
to address this issue to help health professionals classify the severity
of bronchiolitis.