Do we need chest radiographs in infants with uncomplicated bronchiolitis?

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The question of whether we need routine chest radiographs in infants with uncomplicated bronchiolitis is addressed in an article by Schuh et al from The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. They performed a prospective cohort study of more than 200 infants in the pediatric emergency department. The results showed that infants with typical bronchiolitis do not need imaging; invariably, it just confirms the diagnosis. In fact, the use of routine chest radiographs appeared to increase the chances of prescribing antibiotics in patients who were otherwise uncomplicated. The risk of air space disease such as pneumonia was particularly low in infants with mild to moderate respiratory distress and oxygen saturations in room air above 92%. These results will help guide the use of radiographic studies in clinical care.