Research Article

Clinical, laboratory, and microbiological factors associated with bronchiolitis severity: a prospective study

Volume: 9 Number: 2 March 12, 2026
Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine Cover
Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine
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Clinical, laboratory, and microbiological factors associated with bronchiolitis severity: a prospective study

Abstract

Aims: Bronchiolitis is a leading cause of pediatric emergency visits and hospitalization in infants, with a broad spectrum of clinical severity. This prospective study aimed to evaluate demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological, and microbiological characteristics of children with bronchiolitis and to analyze their association with disease severity according to Wang’s criteria. Methods: A total of 305 children aged 0–24 months who presented to the pediatric emergency department of our institution and were diagnosed with bronchiolitis were prospectively enrolled. Patients were classified as having mild, moderate, or severe bronchiolitis. Demographic features, clinical findings, laboratory parameters, imaging results, respiratory support requirements, length of hospital stay, and viral and bacterial etiologies were recorded and analyzed. Results: The median age was 7 months, and 61.6% of patients were male. Mild, moderate, and severe bronchiolitis were observed in 49.8%, 31.5%, and 18.7% of patients, respectively. Recurrent respiratory tract infections were more frequent in moderate and severe disease (29.2% and 22.8%) compared with mild cases (11.2%; p=0.001). Chronic comorbidities were also associated with higher severity (p=0.007). Hospitalization rates increased significantly with severity (14.5% in mild vs 80.2% in moderate and 57.9% in severe cases; p<0.001). Viral pathogens were detected in 21.1% of mild, 67.7% of moderate, and 77.2% of severe bronchiolitis cases (p<0.001). Bacterial superinfection was significantly more common in severe bronchiolitis (14.0%) than in mild (1.3%) and moderate (2.1%) groups. Median length of hospital stay increased from 1 day in mild cases to 6 days in moderate and severe cases (p<0.001). Conclusion: Bronchiolitis severity was associated with viral detection and bacterial superinfection. Patients with confirmed viral infection or bacterial superinfection may represent patients with an increased likelihood of prolonged respiratory support and hospitalization. Early comprehensive assessment may help identify high-risk patients and optimize management in pediatric emergency settings.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

No financial support was received for this study.

Ethical Statement

After approval from Ethics Committee on Non-Pharmaceutical and Non-Medical Device Research (Date: January 5, 2024; Approval No: 2024/4727), the study was conducted in accordance with the principles of Declaration of Helsinki.

Thanks

None

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Pediatric Chest Diseases

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Publication Date

March 12, 2026

Submission Date

December 15, 2025

Acceptance Date

March 2, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 9 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1842879

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA72MS59PX

Cite

RIS / Bibtex
APA
Akkuş, A., Kılıç, A. O., Pekcan, S., Ercan, F., Yücel, M., Koyuncu, M. Z., Çetin, H., Şimşekler, M. O., Çağlar, H. T., Gençeli, M., Metin, Ö., Yazar, A., & Akın, F. (2026). Clinical, laboratory, and microbiological factors associated with bronchiolitis severity: a prospective study. Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine, 9(2), 511-518. https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1842879
AMA
1.Akkuş A, Kılıç AO, Pekcan S, et al. Clinical, laboratory, and microbiological factors associated with bronchiolitis severity: a prospective study. J Health Sci Med / JHSM. 2026;9(2):511-518. doi:10.32322/jhsm.1842879
Chicago
Akkuş, Abdullah, Ahmet Osman Kılıç, Sevgi Pekcan, et al. 2026. “Clinical, Laboratory, and Microbiological Factors Associated With Bronchiolitis Severity: A Prospective Study”. Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine 9 (2): 511-18. https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1842879.
EndNote
Akkuş A, Kılıç AO, Pekcan S, Ercan F, Yücel M, Koyuncu MZ, Çetin H, Şimşekler MO, Çağlar HT, Gençeli M, Metin Ö, Yazar A, Akın F (March 1, 2026) Clinical, laboratory, and microbiological factors associated with bronchiolitis severity: a prospective study. Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine 9 2 511–518.
IEEE
[1]A. Akkuş et al., “Clinical, laboratory, and microbiological factors associated with bronchiolitis severity: a prospective study”, J Health Sci Med / JHSM, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 511–518, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.32322/jhsm.1842879.
ISNAD
Akkuş, Abdullah - Kılıç, Ahmet Osman - Pekcan, Sevgi - Ercan, Fatih - Yücel, Mehtap - Koyuncu, Muhammet Zahit - Çetin, Hasan et al. “Clinical, Laboratory, and Microbiological Factors Associated With Bronchiolitis Severity: A Prospective Study”. Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine 9/2 (March 1, 2026): 511-518. https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1842879.
JAMA
1.Akkuş A, Kılıç AO, Pekcan S, Ercan F, Yücel M, Koyuncu MZ, Çetin H, Şimşekler MO, Çağlar HT, Gençeli M, Metin Ö, Yazar A, Akın F. Clinical, laboratory, and microbiological factors associated with bronchiolitis severity: a prospective study. J Health Sci Med / JHSM. 2026;9:511–518.
MLA
Akkuş, Abdullah, et al. “Clinical, Laboratory, and Microbiological Factors Associated With Bronchiolitis Severity: A Prospective Study”. Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine, vol. 9, no. 2, Mar. 2026, pp. 511-8, doi:10.32322/jhsm.1842879.
Vancouver
1.Abdullah Akkuş, Ahmet Osman Kılıç, Sevgi Pekcan, Fatih Ercan, Mehtap Yücel, Muhammet Zahit Koyuncu, Hasan Çetin, Mustafa Osman Şimşekler, Hanife Tuğçe Çağlar, Mustafa Gençeli, Özge Metin, Abdullah Yazar, Fatih Akın. Clinical, laboratory, and microbiological factors associated with bronchiolitis severity: a prospective study. J Health Sci Med / JHSM. 2026 Mar. 1;9(2):511-8. doi:10.32322/jhsm.1842879

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