Diagnosis
Wheezy illness in children < 2 years old.
Inflammation of small bronchioles (2mm or less, those with no cartilage) with epithelial necrosis and sloughing. They have multiple centrilobular nodules in multiple lobes on CT.
Epidemiologic Risks
Being a child as this is a disease (mostly) of kids.
Microbiology
RSV (mostly), parainfluenza 1 and 3 viruses, adenoviruses, rhinoviruses, and M. pneumoniae.
Empiric Therapy
See your pediatrician, I am an internist. But steroids do not help (PubMed).
There are rare cases in adults and are due to "Mycoplasma pneumoniae in eight (40.0%) patients, influenza virus in two (10.0%), influenza virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae in two (10.0%), Haemophilus influenzae in three (15.0%), and respiratory syncytial virus and rhinovirus in one (5.0%) patient" (PubMed).
In adults, it leaves no long term sequela.
Pearls
Last Update: 05/27/18.