No abstract

Objective: identify the epidemiological characteristics of children with bronchiolitis hospitalized in pediatric intensive care units of a public emergency hospital. Methods: this quantitative cross-sectional study collected data from electronic medical records using a semi-structured instrument with items regarding sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of children with bronchiolitis hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit from April 2018 to April 2020. Results: a total of 73 children were included. Most children were under six months old (56.16%) and male (60.27%), and the most frequent causative agent of bronchiolitis was viral (75.34%). Children under invasive mechanical ventilation tended to have severe acute respiratory syndrome as a complication (p = 0.022) and death as an outcome (p = 0.001). Conclusions: prematurity, male gender, low weight, age below six months, and congenital heart disease were associated with severe bronchiolitis, which may progress to acute respiratory failure or severe acute respiratory syndrome. Mechanical ventilation reduced mortality and improved the clinical condition of children with bronchiolitis, especially in severe cases.