Objective To assess the impact of the recommendations made by the September 2000 consensus conference on outpatient treatment of acute bronchiolitis in Infants.

Methods Prospective multicenter study, in four hospitals in the Nord district of France, during three epidemic periods: the winter preceding the conference and the two winters that followed. The study included all infants between 30 days and 2 years of age who sought emergency care in one of the participating hospitals for a first or second episode of bronchiolitis. Information was collected about the infants’ characteristics and the outpatient treatments prescribed.

Results The study included 638 infants: 169 before the conference and 469 after. Overall, 77% had consulted physicians before seeking emergency treatment and 77% of this group received a prescription from the physician. There was no difference in the frequency of drug prescriptions or chest physiotherapy between the three periods. After the conference, inhaled ß2 agonists were still prescribed in 21% of cases, inhaled corticosteroids in 15%, oral corticosteroids in 34%, antibiotics in 53%, and mucolytics in 54%. Physiotherapy was prescribed for 58%.

Conclusion Two years after the consensus conference, outpatient treatment of bronchiolitis has not changed: too many corticosteroids, ß2 agonists, antibiotics and mucolytics are still prescribed. Application of these guidelines among inpatients and outpatients should be studied again within a few years.