Home oxygen for children with acute bronchiolitis

A prospective randomised controlled pilot study was performed comparing home oxygen therapy with traditional inpatient hospitalisation for children with acute bronchiolitis. Children aged 3–24 months with acute bronchiolitis, still requiring oxygen supplementation 24 h after admission to hospital, were randomly assigned to receive oxygen supplementation at home with support from “hospital in the home” (HiTH) or to continue oxygen supplementation in hospital. 44 children (26 male, mean age 9.2 months) were recruited (HiTH n  =  22) between 1 August and 30 November 2007. Only one child from each group was readmitted to hospital and there were no serious complications. Children in the HiTH group spent almost 2 days less in a hospital bed than those managed as traditional inpatients: HiTH 55.2 h (interquartile range (IQR) 40.3–88.9) versus in hospital 96.9 h (IQR 71.2–147.2) p = 0.001. Home oxygen therapy appears to be a feasible alternative to traditional hospital oxygen therapy in selected children with acute bronchiolitis.