RADIOLOGICAL FINDINGS AND SEVERITY OF ACU TE BRONCHIOLITIS CAUSED BY RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS

The aim of the study was to retrospectively evaluate the presence of a correlation between the radiological findings expressiveness and the bronchiolitis severity. The initial chest roentgenograms of 78 infants affected by bronchiolitis due to Respiratory Syncytial Virus were rev iewed by Authors without knowledge of their clinical features. Each ch est roentgenogram was assigned one or more roentgenographic features. Then, a quantitative estimate of each finding was made using a score o n the grounds of evidence of the feature in question. The severity of the illness is assessed by objective criteria such as arterial blood g as analysis and a clinical scoring system. Therefore, 23 infants were classified as having a serious bronchiolitis (group I) and 55 as havin g a less severe illness (group 2). Through the comparative evaluation of the radiological score assigned to the subjects of each group, a si gnificant difference was observed (p < 0.001). Infants of the group I had more hyperinflation (p < 0.001), hilar adenopathy (p < 0.001), flu ffy opacities (p = 0.005), parahilar peribronchial infiltrates (p = 0. 002), and homogeneously consolidative infiltrates (p = 0.03) than infa nts of the group 2. Therefore, using a cut-off, it was possible to kno w the sensitivity (1.00), specificity (0.85), positive predictive valu e (0.74), and negative predictive value (1.00) of the lest. Overall, t his study has shown that the chest standard radiography in acute bronc hiolitis is a reliable indicator of severity on admission. Then, the r oentgenographic information is helpful to predict the course of the il lness.