THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AZITHROMYCIN IN TREATING ACUTE BRONCHIOLITIS IN INFANTS ADMITTED TO THE PEDIATRIC DEPARTMENT AT LATAKIA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN LATAKIA

Amal Saleh* and Dr. Souad Sakkour

ABSTRACT

Background: Acute Bronchiolitis is the most common viral infection of the lower respiratory tract in infants. It is generally a self-limiting condition and can be treated conservatively at home. However, there are hypotheses that Azityromycin may have a role in treatment. Objective: The main objective is to evaluate the effect of Azithromycin on length of hospital stay and duration of oxygen requirement in cases acute bronchiolitis. Patients and Methods: Analytic comparative study (prospective) during the period from March 2024 to March 2025 at Latakia University Hospital, the study included all infants admitted to the pediatic department with complaints of acute bronchiolitis, treated or not treated with Azithromycin who met the inclusion criteria for the study. Length of hospital stay, duration of oxygen requirement and clinical improvement were compared between patients treated with Azithromycin at a dose of 10mg/kg daily for 5 days and those not treated with Azithromycin under similar clinical, laboratory and therapeutic conditions. Results: The average length of hospital stay was similar in both study groups (p:0.3) and there was no significant difference in oxygen requirements between the two groups (p:0.2). Conclusions: Azithromycin did not improve the main clinical outcomes of infants with acute bronchiolitis in terms of shortening the duration of hospitalization and reducing the duration of oxygen requirement.

Keywords: Acute bronchiolitis. Azithromycin. Respiratory syncytial virus, Infants, Macrolides.