Background
Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalization in pediatric
patients worldwide (1). Approximately a quarter of patients develop
severe bronchiolitis (2, 3). The high medical cost associates with
severe bronchiolitis impose a relevant economic burden, especially in
middle-income countries (4, 5). Middle-income countries are home to 75%
of the world’s population, and approximately 96% of severe cases occur
in these countries (1, 6).
Although the seasonality, risk factors, and clinical presentation of
bronchiolitis in Colombia, a middle-income country, have been well
characterized; the burden of disease generated by this disease in
infants is unknown. The Global Burden of Disease study quantified the
health effects of morbidity and mortality attributable to more than 100
diseases around the world. In this study, a new more-complex metric was
used to estimate incidence, prevalence, and mortality, to characterize
the real burden of disease by measuring both years of life lost as well
as premature death and disability (7). The burden of disease of acute
lower respiratory infections has been reported in the global and local
burden of disease studies, but these reports do not differentiate
between different types of lower respiratory infections. A valid and
consistent description of the burden of disease is necessary to generate
better health-policies and planning processes. This study aimed to
estimate the DALYs of BA in infants less than 2 years in Colombia.