Clinical and physiological manifestations of bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Outcome of respiratory syncytial virus
C. B. Hall, W. J. Hall and D. M. Speers
The physiological abnormalities and clinical correlates of 32 infants
consecutively hospitalized with lower respiratory tract disease from
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were studied in an attempt to
characterized the infant most at risk for the acute and long-term
complications of RSV infection. Arterial oxygen saturation (Sao2)
determinations were obtained daily by means of an ear oximeter. On
admission all infants were hypoxemic with a mean Sao2 of 87% (range, 74% to
95%). The mean of the lowest Soa2 recorded during their hospitalization was
85.5% (range, 53% to 96%). The hypoxemia improved little during
hospitalization but showed improvement three to seven weeks later. The
severity of the hypoxemia correlated significantly with the duration of
viral shedding, occurrence of apnea, respiratory rate, age, and percentage
of immature neutrophils. Clinical severity did not correlate with the
degree of hypoxemia.
