RSV Cases on Rise at Wichita Hospitals

February 18, 2010

by Kim Hynes (WICHITA, Kan.)

All of the pediatric beds are full at Wichita's Wesley Medical Center and Via Christi Hospital. A third of those patients have the Respiratory Syncytial virus or RSV. It's a respiratory virus that makes it hard for babies to breath. To deal with the influx of cases this time of year, Wesley has started an outpatient clinic to free up more hospital beds.

Eight week old Adysin Tabtab needs the gunk in her lungs to be sucked out. She has RSV which makes it hard for her to breath and take a bottle. "If she could talk, I bet she would be yelling out some not so great things," said her dad Christopher Tabtab.

Tabtab called the doctor earlier this week about Adysin's condition. "I was thinking she has to go to the hospital. She's only 8 weeks, a really small child," he said. But since they caught it early, Adysin qualified for treatment at a new outpatient clinic at Wesley.

"By doing it on an out patient basis, we save the hospital beds. It also saves everyone money," said Respiratory Therapist Diana Mark. To use the RSV clinic, you have to get a prescription from your baby's doctor. The prescription is good for a week and you can schedule an appointment to come in up to four times a day for treatment. "Typically the suctioning is the one thing they benefit from the most," Mark said.

10-month-old Carley Daas is starting to feel better after two days in the hospital with RSV. "They're so little and their lungs aren't totally developed. It's scary when they have trouble breathing," her mom Stephanie Daas said. Carley is strong enough to go home now, but her mom expects they'll still need to use the clinic. "I'm sure we'll be back. She's so much better after the suctioning, she breaths so much better," Daas said.

RSV usually impacts children under two. It's a common virus between January and April. Tabtab and Daas say the best way to know there's a problem is to watch your child's breathing. If they are panting or breathing from their belly, both parents recommend calling your doctor. They say it starts out like a cold but quickly turns more serious.

More Online:

Visit the CDC's RSV Homepage

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