OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) in decreasing respiratory distress in bronchiolitis. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Tertiary-care hospital in New Delhi, India. Participants: 72 infants (age < 1y) hospitalized with a clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis were randomized to receive standard care, or nCPAP in addition to standard care, in the first hour after admission. 23 parents refused to give consent for participation. 2 infants did not tolerate nCPAP. PARTICIPANTS: 72 infants (age < 1y) hospitalized with a clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis were randomized to receive standard care, or nCPAP in addition to standard care, in the first hour after admission. 23 parents refused to give consent for participation. 2 infants did not tolerate nCPAP. INTERVENTION: The outcome was assessed after 60 minutes. If nCPAP was not tolerated or the distress increased, the infant was switched to standard care. Analysis was done on intention-to-treat basis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in respiratory rate, Silverman-Anderson score and a Modified Pediatric Society of New Zealand Severity Score. RESULTS: 14 out of 32 in nCPAP group and 5 out of 35 in standard care group had change in respiratory rate >= 10 (p = 0.008). The mean (SD) change in respiratory rate (8.0 (5.8) versus 5.1 (4.0), p = 0.02) in Silverman-Anderson score (0.78 (0.87) versus 0.39 (0.73), p = 0.029) and in Modified Pediatric Society of New Zealand Severity Score (2.5 (3.01) versus 1.08 (1.3), p = 0.012) were significantly different in the nCPAP and standard care groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: nCPAP helped reduce respiratory distress significantly compared to standard care.

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