Key facts
- Medical condition.name
- Bronchiolitis
- Medical condition.image
- File:Bronchiolitis Medical Image.png
- Medical condition.caption
- Depiction of the location of bronchiolitis in the lungs and viral shedding.
- Medical condition.field
- Emergency medicine, pediatrics
- Medical condition.symptoms
- Fever, cough, runny nose, wheezing, breathing problems
- Medical condition.complications
- Shortness of breath, dehydration
- Medical condition.onset
- Less than 2 years old
- Medical condition.causes
- Viral disease (respiratory syncytial virus, human rhinovirus)
- Medical condition.diagnosis
- Based on symptoms
- Medical condition.differential
- Asthma, pneumonia, heart failure, allergic reaction, cystic fibrosis
- Medical condition.treatment
- Symptomatic treatment (oxygen, support with feeding, intravenous fluids)
Article
24 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Causes
- Risk factors
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnosis
- Prevention
- Management
- Outpatient Management
- Nutrition
- Breathing/ Oxygen
- Nasal Suction
- Inpatient/ Hospital Management
- Nutrition/ Fluid Therapy
- Oxygen
- Contradicting Evidence
- Hypertonic saline
- Bronchodilators
- Epinephrine
- Non-effective Treatments
- Experimental Trials
- Epidemiology
- COVID-19 Pandemic
- References
- External links
Bronchiolitis is inflammation of the small airways also known as the bronchioles in the lungs. Acute bronchiolitis is caused by a viral infection, usually affecting children younger than two years of age. Symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose or rhinorrhea, and wheezing. More severe cases may be associated with nasal flaring, grunting, or respiratory distress. If the child has not been able to feed properly due to the illness, signs of dehydration may be present.
Chronic bronchiolitis is more common in adults and has various causes, one of which is bronchiolitis obliterans. Often when people refer to bronchiolitis, they are referring to acute bronchiolitis in children.