Bronchitis: Types, causes, pathophysiology, clinical features and diagnostic evaluation




Bronchitis: Types, causes, pathophysiology, clinical features and diagnostic evaluation

Bronchitis

What is Bronchitis?

  • Bronchitis is defined as persistent cough with sputum production for atleast 3 month in 2 consecutive years

There are three types of bronchitis:

  1. simple chronic bronchitis: it Is a kind of bronchitis in which cough is present with no physiologic evidence of airflow obstruction.
  2. chronic asthmatic bronchitis: it is kind of bronchitis in which hyper reactive airways is present with intermittent bronchospasm and wheezing
  3. obstructive chronic bronchitis: it is a kind of bronchitis in which there is development of chronic airflow obstruction_ emphysema in a heavy smokers

What are the causes of Bronchitis?

  • Chronic irritation by inhaled substances
  • Microbial infection
  • Middle age
  • Cigarette smoking
  • Other pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide,
  • Hyper secretion of mucus in large airways- hallmark of chronic bronchitis
  • Hypertrophy of the submucosal glands of trachea and bronchioles
  • Marked increased in goblet cells of small airways

What is the Pathophysiology of Bronchitis?

  • Hypermeia, swelling of mucus membrane
  • Increased number of goblet cells
  • Bronchial wall become thickened, bronchial lumen is narrowed
  • Mucus may plug airwayAlveoli adjacent to bronchioles may damaged and fibrosed
  • Respiratory infection
  • Bronchitis

What are the clinical features of Bronchitis?

  • Persistent productive cough with copious sputum
  • Dyspnea on exertion
  • Hypercapnia, hypoxemia, and mild cyanosis
  • Cor-pulmonale with cardiac failure
  • Chest pressure, headache, shortness of breath, sleeping difficulty,or sore throat
  • Fatigue or malaise
  • death

What are the diagnostic evaluation for Bronchitis?

  • history taking: take the history of the patient like personal history, history of smoking, history of bronchitis in family member, allergy history, history of infection, any past medical and surgical history