Características clínico – epidemiológicas del lactante menor con neumonía por virus sincitial respiratorio

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of acute lower respiratory tract infection in young infants, who present the most severe clinical pictures. Objective: The objective of the research was to determine the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and the need for oxygen support in infants with RSV pneumonia. Method: A descriptive, observational, retrospective and cross-sectional study was carried out by reviewing the medical records of patients under 3 years of age treated at the Roberto Gilbert E Hospital from January to April 2023, with a diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia. Results: 230 patients were included, the male sex predominated with 53.48%, those affected in greater proportion were those under 1 year of age, the length of hospital stay with an average of 7.28 days of hospitalization. The requirement for high-flow oxygen devices was 31.3% and 2.3% required advanced airway management and the most frequent complication was pneumothorax in 0.86%. Conclusions: RSV pneumonia is a very common pathology, with a slight predominance in men, maximum peak of appearance at 13 months, in most cases its presentation is mild, it can debut with moderate to severe respiratory compromise, which entails the need to use high-flow oxygen devices and even invasive mechani-cal ventilation, which require prolonged hospital stays in critical units and therefore a higher risk of complications.