Design of an Organizational Infrastructure Pediatric Plan to Deal With Bronchiolitis Epidemics: Impact on Length of Stay and Quality of Care in a Tertiary Care Regional Hospital

Acute bronchiolitis is a frequent respiratory viral infection of infants, responsible for 460,000 new cases per year in France. Over the years, the number of hospitalizations during the epidemic season appears to be increasing. Bronchiolitis epidemics lead to recurrent hospital disruption. The current trend towards a reduction of hospital beds is exacerbating the pressure on bronchiolitis epidemics on healthcare systems.

In this context, the pediatric departments of Montpellier University Hospital, France, designed in 2014 a common organizational infrastructure pediatric plan (OIPP) to to adapt to these multiple constraints while respecting the quality of care.

This plan includes a referral flowchart for hospitalized children, an increase in medical and paramedical staff and a restructuring of the pediatric units, with a specific stratification into 4 levels of care.

The study aims to assess the impact of our OIPP on the overall length of stay for children hospitalized for bronchiolitis. The investigator also intend to measure the impact of the OIPP on the length of stay within each unit, the number of transfers from one unit to the other and the number of readmissions within 30 days after hospital discharge. The cost of the implementation of the OIPP in the structure will be analyzed.