 Hi and welcome to nursing school explained. Today we'll go over one of the most common pediatric respiratory disorder called bronchiolitis. And what that means is inflammation, it is of the bronchioles. So those are the smaller airways that we have in our upper chest. 50% of the cases the cause is RSV, respiratory sensational virus. And usually small children and infants are very prone to getting this. And usually they get it from contact with an older sibling or a parent, who might only have very mild upper respiratory infection symptoms, such as a little bit of a runny nose or throat cough, they might not really think much about it. But because the differences in the anatomy in small children, it can cause significant symptoms and also respiratory distress in these very small children. And it is highly contagious. So a lot of times parents, they don't know they just think they have a very minor cold, they go on about their business, they care for their child or infant as they would usually, they kiss them, they, you know, don't practice any particular infection control and all of a sudden this child gets really ill with the same virus that's not really causing any trouble in the adults or older siblings. But in small children, it can cause some significant problems. So signs and symptoms include nasal congestion, that's a big one. And because we know that small children are unable to clear their noses themselves, they can't blow their nose. And also, they mostly breathe through their noses. So if they have a lot of mucus build up, lots of nasal congestion, that is basically an airway obstruction and can lead to some really big problems. They might also be sneezing, have a lower temperature and anorexia, because we know that children, when they're ill, they just don't want to eat. Now later signs and symptoms. So in the initial phase, they might just have very mild symptoms, but then later on, they can develop some signs and symptoms of acute respiratory distress, such as tachypnea, tachycardia, they might have abnormal lung sounds. And that's mostly going to be Ronchi because that's all this mucus congestion that's causing the problems. And there might be underlying crackles or wheezing as well. The child might be cyanotic, or show signs of cyanosis, such as starting with sarcomaura, or maybe the extremities are a little bit cyanotic, that certainly can progress to some more significant whole body cyanosis. They might have all these other signs and symptoms of respiratory stress, flaring, retractions, difficulty feeding, sucking and swallowing, because they're working so hard to breathe that feeding really comes secondary. Plus keep in mind, if they are breastfed, and they're attempting to feed and they're attempting to breathe at the same time if the nose is congested, they're not going to be able to feed. Now, diagnostic test for bronchiolitis is a respiratory culture to really see what virus or bacteria might be causing the trouble and the signs and symptoms. And then maybe a chest x-ray, if there is a suspicion for some underlying adelectasis or pneumonia. So if this child is just not getting any better after several days of being ill or maybe hospitalized, and they're all too sad, it's not improving, then certainly a chest x-ray will be indicated. And treatment and nursing care, so if the symptoms are mild, the patient can be treated at home with supportive care. And that includes management of fever, making sure they're staying hydrated, making sure that infection control measures are being taken, that they're eating well, and all those good things that we teach our patients. Now, but if they're moderated to severe symptomatic, then they're going to have to be hospitalized. And treatments here because of this nasal congestion that's causing all this trouble in these children that breathe through their nose primarily, we want to make sure we get rid of that mucus. So on nasal pharyngeal suctioning is going to be of the utmost importance for these children. Cohumidified air will help moisturize any secretions as well as deal with the inflammation of the airways to really help decrease the edema and open their airways to breathe a little bit easier. Certainly, we want to elevate the head of the bed because all this congestion might feel like they're choking. So by elevating the head of the bed will let things just drain naturally. They might need IV fluids for hydration and certainly infection control measures. Now, the CDC only recommends contact precautions for RSV, but most hospitals nowadays will put the patient in contact and droplet precautions because it is so highly contagious. And then for preemies and children with chronic lung issues, so maybe they have asthma or they've had some congenital heart defect or any kind of other chronic illnesses, there is an RSV vaccination available. In summary, RSV is very common if you've been to pediatric clinical yet you know that children are hospitalized frequently for this for this illness. And because we have this nasal congestion and the mucus production, number one is to clear their airway. If you're thinking about your airway breathing circulation priorities, so that suctioning is going to be very important. Thank you for watching. Please also watch the other videos on pediatric respiratory disorders to help you distinguish between the differences. And I hope to see you again soon. Thank you for watching Nursing School Explained.