Bronchitis

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Lungs

Bronchitis

Lung anatomy

Bronchitis and Normal Condition in Tertiary Bronchus

Cause of Acute Bronchitis

Cause of Chronic Bronchitis

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder)

Bronchitis

Definition:

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the main air passages to the lungs. Bronchitis may be short-lived (acute) or chronic, meaning that it lasts a long time and often recurs.

Alternative Names:
Inflammation - bronchi
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

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Acute bronchitis generally follows a viral respiratory infection. Initially, it affects your nose, sinuses, and throat and then spreads to the lungs. Sometimes, you may getanother(secondary) bacterial infection in the airways.This means that bacteria infect the airways, in addition to the virus.

People at risk for acute bronchitis include:

Elderly, infants, and young children
Smokers
People with heart or lung disease

Chronic bronchitis is a long-term condition. People have a coughthat produces excessive mucus.To bediagnosed with chronic bronchitis, you must have a cough with mucus most days of the month forat least 3 months.

Chronic bronchitis is also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD for short. (Emphysema is another type of COPD.)As the condition gets worse, you become increasingly short of breath, have difficulty walking or exerting yourself physically, and may need supplemental oxygen on a regular basis.

Cigarette smoke, including long-term exposure to second-hand smoke, is the main cause of chronic bronchitis. The severity of the disease often relates to how much you smoked or how long you were exposed to the smoke.

The following things can make bronchitis worse: Air pollution, certain occupations (like coal mining, textile manufacturing, or grain handling), infection, and allergies.

References:

Murray JF, Nadel JA. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders; 2000; 1215-1216.

Macfarlane J, Holmes W, Gard P, Thornhill D, Macfarlane R, Hubbard R. Providing patient information reduces antibiotic use in acute bronchitis. Evidence-based Healthcare. 2002; 6(3): 130.

Radon K. Passive smoke exposure: a risk factor for chronic bronchitis and asthma in adults? Chest. 2002; 122(3): 1086-1090.