Impact on parents of bronchiolitis hospitalization of full-term, preterm and congenital heart disease infants.

Background: The objective of this work was to explore the impact on parents of the bronchiolitis hospitalization of their infant using the Impact of Bronchiolitis Hospitalization Questionnaire (IBHQ©).

Methods: Four hundred sixty-three infants aged less than 1 year and hospitalized for bronchiolitis were included in a French observational study during the 2008-2009 season. Parents were asked to complete the IBHQ at hospital discharge and 3 months later. IBHQ scores, ranging from 0 (no impact) to 100 (highest impact), were compared according to gestational age (full-term, 33-36 wGA, ≤ 32 wGA) and the presence of congenital heart disease (CHD). The potential drivers of impact were explored using multivariate linear regressions.

Results: The study included 332 full-terms, 71 infants born at 33-36 wGA, and 60 at ≤ 32 wGA; 28 infants had a CHD. At hospital discharge, 9 of the 12 IBHQ mean scores were above 40, indicating a marked impact on parents. Three months later, all mean scores were lower but 5 were still greater than 40. At discharge, the length of hospitalization had a significant effect on IBHQ worries and distress, fear for future, guilt and impact on daily organization scores (p<0.01); the parents' educational level had a significant effect on IBHQ worries and distress, fear for future, impact on daily organization and financial impact scores (p<0.05). The only statistically significant difference found between the parents of preterm and full-term infants was for the physical impact score at discharge (p=0.004).

Conclusions: Bronchiolitis hospitalization has conspicuous emotional, physical and organizational consequences on parents and siblings, which persist 3 months after hospital discharge. The main drivers of the impact were length of hospital stay and parents' educational level, while infants' gestational age or the presence of a CHD had little influence.