MEDICAL INFORMATION
CHRONIC BRONCHITIS
Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Bronchitis is a major cause of illness and results in about 20 to 80 deaths yearly per 100,000 persons aged 55 to 65 years. Bronchial tubes are the airways of the lung. Bronchitis is an inflammation of the mucosal lining of these airways. CHRONIC BRONCHITIS is characterized by frequent coughing and excessive production of sputum for greater than 2 consecutive years. Chronic bronchitis could result from chronic exposure to irritants such as cigarette smoke and other air pollutants, and from the frequent recurrent infections of the lung. ACUTE EXACERBATION is an increase in symptoms characterized by increased coughing, increased sputum production volume, increased sputum purulence, and by respiratory distress (difficulty in breathing). (P. Ball. Epidemiology and treatment of chronic bronchitis and its exacerbations. Chest 108, 43@ - 52S, 1995).
The infections of acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis may be due to bacterial or viral infections. Bacterial infections commonly associated with AECB are Haemophilus influenza, Streptococcus pneumonia, and Moraxella catarrhalis. Less common causes are Legionella pneumophilia, Chlamydia and Mycoplasma pneumoniae.