About the disease
Chronic obstructive bronchitis is a long-term inflammation of the bronchi, also known as bronchial tubes. These tubes, also called airways, are responsible for carrying air to the lungs. When these airways become chronically inflamed due to other respiratory infections, the bronchial tubes form mucous, causing constant irritation to the bronchi and, subsequently, the lungs. Other manifestations of chronic obstructive bronchitis are long-term coughing, fever and shortness of breath.
Obstruction is usually partial but enough to prevent the required amount of oxygen from reaching the lungs, causing the sufferer breathing difficulties. Chronic obstructive bronchitis develops when mucus has been accumulating in the bronchial tubes for a long time and it has become difficult for the sufferer to completely cough it up.
This condition usually develops as a result of smoking. The likelihood of someone developing this particular type of bronchitis rises if they smoke while suffering from another respiratory infection. Smoking causes mucous to accumulate more intensely. Other common causes of chronic obstructive bronchitis include breathing in air pollutants, fumes and dust, which irritate the bronchial tubes. For instance, chronic obstructive bronchitis was very common in England during the Industrial Revolution, when the amount of fumes and adverse pollutants skyrocketed due to the increased amount of factories. To this day, it is very important for workers in certain factories to wear protective masks to avoid the detrimental effect of pollutants on the lungs.
Symptoms
- Coughing up mucous
- Frequent respiratory infections
- Chest pain
- Fever
- Dry, painful cough
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
Diagnosis
- During a general examination, the doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to the patient’s breathing. If any strange cracking sounds can be heard, this can be an indicator of pneumonia.
- A blood test can find out whether the patient has contracted an infection.
- A lung function test can find out if there is an obstruction in the bronchial tubes and assess how well the patient can breathe.
- A chest X-ray is performed to examine the patient’s bronchial tubes and to determine how much the airways have been obstructed. This will then help the doctor to decide on the best course of action.
Treatment
- Conservative treatment should be enough to get a patient with chronic obstructive bronchitis breathing normally again.
- A bronchodilator may be prescribed, to dilate the bronchial tubes to their normal size.
- Steroids may be prescribed to clear away the mucus.
- Oxygen therapy may be prescribed in serious cases, whereby the patient uses an oxygen mask and tank.
- If chronic obstructive bronchitis resulted from a bacterial infection, antibiotics are prescribed as well as anti-inflammatory drugs, to reduce the inflammation and alleviate the pain in the lungs.
Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Farrukh Ahmed
