Abstract
ABSTRACT
Bronchiolitis is the leading cause of hospital presentation and admission for infants in Australasia. We aimed to synthesise current evidence on the effect of discharge criteria for infants (aged N
= 2697) (low to very low quality), reporting on unique discharge criteria. In both studies, use of the discharge criteria was associated with a significant reduction in LOS relative to alternative protocols. There was no significant difference in readmission rates observed in either study. There was low to very low certainty evidence across outcomes due to risk of bias, indirectness and imprecision. The review findings informed a recommendation update for safe discharge criteria in the 2025 Australasian Bronchiolitis Guideline update. Updated, prescriptive discharge criteria and flow chart were developed, covering clinical stability, oxygen saturation/support, feeding difficulties, caregiver confidence and education on deterioration, social factors and follow‐up. The revised criteria provide clinicians with increased certainty in decision‐making in bronchiolitis, albeit with further research needed.