Epidemiology and seasonal variation of state hospital admissions for bronchiolitis among children in Malta

Abstract

Bronchiolitis is a seasonal viral illness characterised by breathing difficulties, cough, poor feeding, irritability and lethargy and, in the very young, apnoea. General Practitioners (GPs) often encounter children with bronchiolitis and as GPs working in Malta, there was the notice of certain patterns of infection, such as the young age of this patient group, the increased frequency of occurrence in the winter months and a commonly reported history of Neonatal Intensive Care admission. There was the look for published local literature to determine the local epidemiology of this illness and found none. Review of the international literature led to an understanding of the existence of a specific seasonality of bronchiolitis in the northern hemisphere, with more admissions being recorded in the winter months. Particular trends in the demographics of admitted children were noted in the literature, specifically with younger patients, as well as children with previous Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care admission being more frequently admitted. This retrospective study was undertaken in order to establish whether there is any seasonal variation in the rate of hospitalization for bronchiolitis, what observations could be made about epidemiological factors describing these admissions and their radiographic and microbiological investigation in secondary care.