Multi‐centre study concluded that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was not a primary cause of bronchiolitis in infants

Abstract

Bronchiolitis is one of the most common viral infections in infants and the respiratory syncytial virus has been the most frequently associated pathogen with this disease. 1 The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which causes COVID-19, typically presents with respiratory symptoms. 2Although SARS-CoV-2 has been reported to be a possible rare cause of bronchiolitis, 2 further research is needed to understand this relationship. The aim of this study was to explore the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 was one of the respiratory viruses that caused bronchiolitis in Italy.This multi-centre case-control study included all infants up to 1 year of age that fulfilled the inclusion criteria between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2023 when they presented to the paediatric