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    Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2008 Oct;4(5):895-903.

    Pharmacological management of acute bronchiolitis.

    Wright M, Mullett CJ, Piedimonte G.

    Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA.

    This article reviews the current knowledge base related to the pharmacological treatments for acute bronchiolitis. Bronchiolitis is a common lower respiratory illness affecting infants worldwide. The mainstays of therapy include airway support, supplemental oxygen, and support of fluids and nutrition. Frequently tried pharmacological interventions, such as ribavirin, nebulized bronchodilators, and systemic corticosteroids, have not been proven to benefit patients with bronchiolitis. Antibiotics do not improve the clinical course of patients with bronchiolitis, and should be used only in those patients with proven concurrent bacterial infection. Exogenous surfactant and heliox therapy also cannot be recommended for routine use, but surfactant replacement holds promise and should be further studied.

    PMID: 19209271 [PubMed - in process]

    PMCID: 2621418

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    Patient drug information

    • Ribavirin (Copegus®, Rebetol®)

      Ribavirin is used with another medication called an interferon to treat hepatitis C. Ribavirin is in a class of antiviral medications called nucleoside analogues. It works by stopping the virus that causes hepatitis C fr...