Lactate dehydrogenase and caspase activity in nasopharyngeal secretions are predictors of bronchiolitis severity

Mehta, Reena; Scheffler, Margaret; Tapia, Lorena; Aideyan, Letisha; Patel, Kirtida D; Jewell, Alan M; Avadhanula, Vasanthi; Mei, Minghua; Garofalo, Roberto P; Piedra, Pedro A

In the 2010-11 respiratory viral season, we enrolled 131 children <2 years of age with bronchiolitis; 112 children were enrolled from the emergency department and 19 children were enrolled within 24 hours of admission to the pediatric ICU. The average age (mean AE SD) of children was 7Á2 AE 5Á8 months. Most children (51Á9%) were Hispanic, followed by African-American (24Á2%) and white (22Á9%). Of enrolled children, 58Á8% were male. Most children (64Á9%) had been breastfed, and just over half (51Á9%) presented on days 3-5 of illness. Only 26Á9% of children attended daycare, and 33Á6% of children lived in homes with smokers. A diagnosis of asthma was found in 8Á4% of children. Demographic data of the participants stratified by disposition (home, ACU, ICU) are presented in Table 1 . There was no difference among groups in terms of age, gender, race, or asthma diagnoses; the groups were also similar in terms of exposure to daycare, tobacco smoke, and breastfeeding. The only demographic variable that differed significantly was duration of illness prior to presentation: children presenting on days 3-5 of illness were significantly likelier to be admitted to the ACU or ICU (P = 0Á03).