Wainwright et al used a score for determining the degree of respiratory distress in infants with acute bronchiolitis. The authors are from multiple institutions in Quuensland, Australia.
Patient selections: infants <= 12 months of age
Parameters:
(1) respiratory effort
(2) oxygen saturation while breathing ambient air
(3) respiratory rate compared to that of a healthy infant of the same age
Parameter
Finding
Points
respiratory effort
mild
1
moderate
2
severe
3
oxygen saturation
>= 95%
0
90 to 94%
1
< 90%
2
respiratory rate
< -3 SD below mean
2
-2 to -3 SD below mean
1
-1.99 SD below to +1.99 SD above mean
0
+2 to +3 SD above mean
1
> +3 SD above mean
2
total score =
= SUM(points for all 3 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 7
• The higher the score the greater the respiratory distress.
Total Score
Overall Severity
0 or 1
mild
2 or 3
moderate
4 to 7
severe
where:
• I would think a score of 0 would indicate no respiratory distress.
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