Management of Hospitalized Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis in the Pediatric Ward in Spain: Assessing the Impact of a New Clinical Practice Protocol

Background Bronchiolitis caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the main reason for hospitalization in infants. Supportive care is the mainstay of treatment, and tests are restricted to a few indications. During 2015, our hospital bronchiolitis protocol (2015 HBP) was updated according to the latest practice guidelines. Objective The objective of this study was to assess implementation of the 2015 HBP and the clinical outcome of children aged ≤ 24 months with RSV bronchiolitis admitted to a pediatric ward. Methods We compared the use of treatments and tests, hospital length of stay (LOS), and oxygen requirements before implementation of the 2015 HBP (2014–2015 and 2015–2016 seasons) and after implementation (2016–2017 and 2017–2018 seasons). Results The study population comprised 251 children (44.90%) in the first period and 308 (55.10%) in the second (median age 99 days, interquartile range 44–233). After implementation of the 2015 HBP, a statistically significant reduction was found in the percentage of patients undergoing the following treatments or diagnostic tests: salbutamol, from 57.77 to 31.17% ( p < 0.001); epinephrine, from 61.75 to 1.30% ( p < 0.001); 3% hypertonic saline, from 70.12 to 6.82% ( p < 0.001); antibiotics, from 33.07 to 23.05% ( p = 0.008); and chest X-ray, from 43.82 to 31.17% ( p = 0.001). No statistically significant reductions were observed in the use of corticosteroids and blood tests. Hospital LOS and oxygen requirements were similar in each period. Conclusions Appropriate implementation of the 2015 HBP in the pediatric ward improves the use of medication and chest X-ray without modifying clinical outcomes. However, further efforts are needed to reduce the use of salbutamol, corticosteroids, and blood tests.