The chest radiograph in acute bronchiolitis.

The relationship between clinical severity, as judged by a clinical scoring method, and the degree of radiological change on a chest X-ray, was assessed in 153 children with acute bronchiolitis. There was no statistical correlation between clinical severity and the degree of radiological change. The majority of radiographs were requested on the assumption that it was a useful routine investigation. We suggest that the request for a chest X-ray in acute bronchiolitis should be made only when the need for intensive care is being considered, where there has been an unexpected deterioration in the child's condition or the child has an underlying cardiac or pulmonary disorder.