Outpatient management of patients with bronchiolitis discharged home on oxygen: a survey of general pediatricians.

Objective: To describe the experience of general pediatricians in weaning bronchiolitis patients, treated as outpatients, from oxygen.

Methods: The authors surveyed members of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Community Pediatrics regarding management of outpatient oxygen for bronchiolitis.

Results: The survey had 214 (28.4%) responses from pediatricians, of whom 172 (80.3%) practiced outpatient pediatrics. Among those, 27 (15.7%) cared for bronchiolitis patients discharged on oxygen. Pediatricians managing home oxygen practiced at higher altitude (5000 vs 339 ft, P < .001). No clear weaning protocol was reported. Over half (61.5%) of the pediatricians managing home oxygen acknowledged difficulty in deciding when to stop oxygen. A median of 2 (interquartile range [IQR] = 2-2) outpatient visits and 6 (IQR = 4-7) outpatient days on home oxygen were needed prior to oxygen discontinuation.

Conclusion: Pediatricians are not routinely managing home oxygen for hypoxic bronchiolitis patients. Variable weaning process, difficulties in determining oxygen stoppage, multiple follow-up visits, and prolonged home oxygen usage highlight the need to evaluate the impact of this emerging practice.