Risks of severity and readmission of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children hospitalised for bronchiolitis

Objective: To describe the characteristics of children admitted to Royal Darwin Hospital with bronchiolitis, and to compare the severity of illness and incidence of subsequent readmission in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. Design, Setting and Participants: Retrospective study of 101 children (aged <= 2 years) hospitalised with bronchiolitis to Royal Darwin Hospital between April 2005 and December 2006. Main Outcome Measures: Admission characteristics and indices of severity, treatment required (antibiotics etc.), reasons and incidence of readmissions (within 6 months). Results: Indigenous children had significantly more severe illness then non-Indigenous children (n = 80 and 21, respectively), longer hospital stay (median = 6 and 3 days; P = 0.001) and oxygen requirement ( median = 3 and 0; P = 0.004), pneumonia (n = 14 and 0; P = 0.04) and antibiotics treatment (48 and 4; P = 0.001). The readmission rate for bronchiolitis was high (23%) with no significant difference between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. Conclusion: Indigenous Australian children hospitalised with bronchiolitis have significantly more severe illness than non-Indigenous children. Points of intervention that can address this and the identified high readmission rate (within 6 months) are required.