bronchiolitis

Bronchiolitis is an infection of the bronchioles, small air passages in the lungs, that is caused by a virus. The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the primary causes of bronchiolitis, especially in infants.

Because bronchiolitis can become a serious illness in infants—especially premature infants—Dayton Children’s works with community physician offices to immunize at-risk infants. This is done through the Synagis® clinic at Dayton Children’s. Synagis is the only FDA-approved medication to help protect high-risk babies from severe RVS disease. It is administered monthly during RSV season. Success is measured by looking at the number of Synagis doses and patients immunized.

Dayton Children’s also measures the average length of stay for patients admitted with bronchiolitis and the number of patients who return to the hospital after being treated and discharged. Our low return rate demonstrates the effectiveness of the treatment protocol used at Dayton Children’s.