Pulse oximetry drives overtreatment in children with bronchiolitis without improving clinical outcomes, argue Ricardo Quinonez and colleagues.
Key Messages
Bronchiolitis admissions have increased substantially over the past 30 years, without a concomitant change in disease severity or mortality
The increase in admission rates for bronchiolitis coincides with the increased widespread use of pulse oximetry in the 1980s
Hypoxaemia may be a main driver for decisions to admit children with bronchiolitis, evidence shows
Overdiagnosis of hypoxaemia may be at least partially responsible for increased admission rates of children with bronchiolitis, recent evidence shows
Lower thresholds for oxygen concentration to determine treatment may be associated with better outcomes such as decreased length of stay, with no demonstrated evidence of adverse outcomes