It’s that time of year again, bronchiolitis season.
This week on the Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine, Hot off the Press (SGEMHOP), guest host Anthony Crocco and I reviewed this CJEM article on community hospital management of bronchiolitis. The article is free and open access on CJEM. Anthony (@sketchyEBM) and I had the opportunity to interview the lead author, Dr. Amy Plint, a true bronchiolitis expert. You can find the podcast here.
Although this article reviewed community hospital management of bronchiolitis, the take home points are applicable to anyone practicing pediatric EM, including those at academic centres. To summarize it simply, we continue to overinvestigate and overtreat this disease. Bronchiolitis remains a clinical diagnosis, and the primary therapy for it is supportive care. Despite this, patients still receive an inordinate number of chest x-rays, nebulized medications, steroids and antibiotics.
Head on over to the SGEM to read the complete critical appraisal and listen to the podcast. Join the discussion on social media using Twitter (#SGEMHOP), posting on the SGEM blog or using Facebook/Google Plus. You can reach us on Twitter @TheSGEM, @sketchyebm and @socmobem.
Cheers,
Chris
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