Abstract

Bronchiolitis is a common clinical problem in children under 2 years of age with tachypnea and increased respiratory activity following an upper airway prodrome1. It is characterized by inflammation of the bronchioles after an acute viral infection2. In bronchiolitis, there is necrosis and detachment of epithelial cells, edema, increased mucus secretion, and peribronchial mononuclear infiltration changes that obstruct flow in the large and small airways, leading to hyperinflation, atelectasis, and wheezing3.Most of the children were in the age group of 2 to 6 months. Shorter cough & wheeze remission time in HS group compared to NS group (p<0.01)..There was an improvement in the clinical severity score, CSS improved more significantly in the 3% saline group (group B) from 6.62 to 1.02 compared to the 0.9% saline group (group A). The average duration of oxygen supplementation and use of bronchodilator treatment was significantly shorter (18 hours) in the HS group than in the NS group (33 hours), which was statistically significant (p<0.001).The requirement for CPAP support was reduced in 3% of the NS group compared to 0.9% of the NS group.

Description