Validation of an acute bronchiolitis severity scale

• Published in: Anales de pediatría (Barcelona, Spain : 2003) Vol. 81; no. 1; pp. 3 - 8
• Main Authors: Ramos Fernández, J M, Cordón Martínez, A, Galindo Zavala, R, Urda Cardona, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Spain 01.07.2014
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Bronchiolitis - diagnosis; Diagnostic Techniques, Respiratory System - standards; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Reproducibility of Results; Severity of Illness Index; Acute bronchiolitis; Validation; Clinical scales; Escalas clínicas; Validación; Bronquiolitis aguda
• ISSN: 1695-9531
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anpedi.2013.06.020

Acute bronchiolitis (AB) is a very common disease, with a high rate of seasonal hospitalization. Its management requires homogeneous clinical interpretations for which there are different approaches depending on the scales, none of which are properly validated today. To create an AB severity scale (ABSS) and to validate it. The development of a parameterized construct with a gradual cumulative score of respiratory rate, heart rate, respiratory effort, auscultation of wheezing and crackles, and the inspiration/expiration ratio. Also, the validation of the ABSS performed on patients diagnosed with AB, the reliability measured by observing the behavior of internal consistency, test-retest, external validity and inter-observer agreement. From a total of 290 measurements a Cronbach's reliability alpha of 0.83 was obtained; Kappa agreement index of 0.93 in the test-retest agreement, and Kappa index of 0.682 (α<0.05) for inter-observer agreement. The ABSS can be a reliable tool for measuring the severity of AB.