Despite recommendations against using in the evaluation of bronchiolitis in infants, nearly one-half of cases diagnosed in American EDs are administered unneeded imaging, according to research published in JAMA Pediatrics.

“Clinical practice guidelines of the AAP, published in 2006 and revised in 2014, recommend against routine radiography in the evaluation of infants with bronchiolitis,” Brett Burstein, MDCM, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the division of emergency medicine at McGill University, and colleagues wrote. “Unnecessary imaging for bronchiolitis contributes to health care costs, radiation exposure and antibiotic overuse and consequently was identified in 2013 as a national ‘Choosing Wisely’ .”