Avoid doing chest x rays in infants with typical bronchiolitis
Jeremy Friedman, Tessa Davis, Aarani Somaskanthan, Amy Ma
Abstract
### What you need to know Bronchiolitis is a viral lower respiratory tract infection occurring mainly in the winter months, most commonly caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It is seen primarily in infancy but occurs up to 2 years of age and is the most common indication for hospitalisation in this age group. Ninety percent of children are infected with RSV in their first 2 years, and up to 40% will experience bronchiolitis during the initial infection.1 Bronchiolitis usually begins with a viral upper respiratory tract prodrome (rhinorrhoea and cough) followed by increasing respiratory effort (tachypnoea and/or accessory muscle use) with wheezing and/or crackles heard on chest auscultation. Diagnosis and assessment of disease severity is based on history and physical examination findings and does not require any confirmatory testing (box 1).1 Box 1 ### Guidance on optimal assessment of infants with bronchiolitis12RETURN TO TEXT