Background: Acute Bronchiolitis is one of the most common reasons of hospital admission in infancy. Treatment depends on humidified oxygen, properly administered fluids and adequate nutrition. The aim of this work is to assess the value of CPAP in the management of infants with severe bronchiolitis in PICU.
Methods: 32 infants younger than one year with severe bronchiolitis were recruited. Cases were divided randomly into two groups, Group A used the standard treatment and Group B on nasal CPAP. primary assessment was done for infants by recording baseline vital signs, grade of respiratory distress and capillary blood gases. Re-evaluation was done after 12 hours and 24 hours. Evaluation of the outcome was done for the length of PICU stay, hospital stay, the need for mechanical ventilation and any complication.
Results: In the CPAP group a significant improvement of respiratory distress was found after 24 hours. A significant improvement in O2 saturation after 24 hours (P