Abstract
BackgroundThe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the main cause of bronchiolitis in infants and interferon (IFN) α is a commercial antiviral drug. The nebulization of IFN α1b could be a viable treatment method. In this study, the therapeutic effects and safety of IFN α1b delivery via nebulization in infant bronchiolitis were investigated in this multi-center prospective study.Methods and findingsBronchiolitis patients admitted to 22 hospitals who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled and randomly allocated to four groups: control, IFN Intramuscular Injection, IFN Nebulization 1 (1 μg/kg), and IFN Nebulization 2 (2 μg/kg) groups. All patients were observed for 7 days. The therapeutic effects and safety of different IFN delivery doses and delivery modes were evaluated. Coughing severity change, as scored by the researchers and parents, between days 1 and 3 was significantly different between the IFN Nebulization 2 and control groups. Lowell wheezing score change between days 3 and 5 was significantly different between IFN Nebulization 1 and control groups. There were no significant differences among the four groups regarding the number of consecutive days with fever, three-concave sign, fatigue and sleepiness, and loss of appetite. There were no cases of severe complications, no recurrence of fever, and no regression of mental status.ConclusionsIFN-α1b could more effectively alleviate coughing and wheezing in bronchiolitis. IFN-α1b nebulization had significant advantages in shortening the duration of wheezing and alleviating coughing.
Highlights
Bronchiolitis is one of the most common acute lower respiratory tract inflammation diseases found among infants and young children, during winter and spring [1]
There are approximately 34 million cases of bronchiolitis caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among children below 5 years of age [2]
The results from several retrospective and prospective epidemiological studies have shown that the risk for childhood-onset asthma and allergic rhinitis is 5–6 times greater among patients who contracted RSV bronchiolitis in early childhood, significantly increasing the economic and psychological burden on society and the affected families [3]
Summary
Bronchiolitis is one of the most common acute lower respiratory tract inflammation diseases found among infants and young children, during winter and spring [1]. There are approximately 34 million cases of bronchiolitis caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among children below 5 years of age [2]. In the USA, bronchiolitis is the leading cause of hospitalization among infants younger than 1 year. There is currently a dearth of effective measures for the treatment of bronchiolitis. According to a summary by the "Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Bronchiolitis" [4] on therapeutic research in recent years, available drugs for etiological treatment with confirmed therapeutic efficacy are lacking, probably because bronchiolitis is mostly caused by the RSV, rhinovirus, metapneumovirus, and other respiratory viruses [5]. The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the main cause of bronchiolitis in infants and interferon (IFN) α is a commercial antiviral drug. The therapeutic effects and safety of IFN α1b delivery via nebulization in infant bronchiolitis were investigated in this multi-center prospective study
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