Recurrent obstructive bronchitis

Recurrent obstructive bronchitis is a repeated exacerbation of bronchial obstruction that occurs several times in a single season, usually against the background of an existing infection. Simply put, cured acute obstructive bronchitis, can become aggravated once a person falls ill with an ordinary cold. Similar outbreaks of exacerbation that occur several times in a short period of time are usually called relapses.

[1], [2]

What causes recurrent obstructive bronchitis?

Provocative of relapses of obstructive bronchitis are acute respiratory infections. Most often, such a disease is characteristic of children, and of an early age. In the medical field, recurrent obstructive bronchitis is known as a harbinger of bronchial asthma.

This is explained by the fact that children prone to frequent obstructions of the bronchial tree are most prone to develop further attacks of bronchial asthma.

How does recurrent obstructive bronchitis occur?

As already mentioned above, relapses are called repeated outbreaks of a recent illness. In the case of obstructive bronchitis, relapses may occur within the first two years. The impetus for relapse is the infectious disease of the body, it is SARS.

On the background of the main symptoms of acute respiratory viral infection: insignificant or subfebrile body temperature, reddening of the throat, enlarged tonsils, discharge from the nose, coughing turning into a strong dry cough. General weakness of the body, lack of appetite. Within a few days, the symptoms of SARS decrease, and the cough acquires a wet character, the mucous or mucopurulent sputum escapes.

In the lungs can be heard rough rales, single, dry or wet, small or large bubble, with a changing quantitative and qualitative index before and after coughing.

For relapsing conditions, it is important to observe during the periods of remission, recovery of the organism after the disease. It is worth noting that after the acute phase of recurrent obstructive bronchitis subsides during the remission period, the so-called "increased readiness for cough" is observed. An example is the situation in which a breath of fresh frosty air or other provoking factor causes a strong attack of cough.

How to recognize recurrent obstructive bronchitis?

The most informative methods are the radiographic image of the chest, in which you can clearly see the greatly enlarged pulmonary pattern. The clarity of the pulmonary pattern is more pronounced in the period of exacerbation, but also in the state of remission its increase significantly differs from the norm values.

In the acute period, bronchoscopy is very informative. With its help, the distribution of catarrhal or catarrhal-purulent endobronchitis can be detected in a timely manner.

The bronchography is also indicative in which a contrast medium is introduced into the bronchi and the bronchial tree is observed to follow it. Recurrent obstructive bronchitis gives a picture of a very slow or partial filling of the bronchi, or a visible narrowing of the bronchial lumen, which indicates the presence of bronchospasm.

In clinical and biochemical analyzes of blood and urine, no significant changes in the character of the examined disease are detected.

Differential diagnostics

When making an accurate diagnosis, in young children, a detailed differential diagnosis should be carried out to exclude bronchial asthma. The diagnosis of bronchial asthma will be made if: 

• Exacerbation of obstruction more than three times in a row for a calendar year.
• An aggravated allergic anamnesis or the presence of any severe allergic reaction.
• Eosinophilia (presence of eosinophils in peripheral blood).
• Absence of fever in the period of an attack of obstruction.
• Positive allergic indices in the blood.

[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]

What is the treatment for recurrent obstructive bronchitis?

The algorithm for the treatment of acute obstructive bronchitis is also used to treat relapses of this disease. Separate, specially developed treatment regimens are relapses - no. To exclude the subsequent repetition of the disease, it is necessary to conduct constant and targeted prevention.

For the period of treatment, the necessary rest, food and respiration regime is provided. For the inhaled air, indices are required for the total temperature, it should be within the range of +18 - +20 degrees and humidity not lower than 60%. Warm and moist air promotes the removal of bronchospasm, dilution of sputum and the alleviation of the condition as a whole.

The main task in the treatment of obstructive bronchitis is to remove the bronchial congestion. With this task, the drugs of such groups as mucolytics and bronchodilators are successfully cope, consistently applied, according to certain schemes. To small children more often similar preparations are appointed or nominated in the form of inhalations.

Antibiotic therapy is prescribed solely on indications. Can be a period of 3 to 7 days.

A good therapeutic effect is provided by physiotherapy and physiotherapy exercises, massage exercises aimed at improving blood circulation and ventilation of the lungs.

In difficult situations, when repetitions of obstruction occur frequently, treatment can be delayed up to three months or more. The treatment includes preparations used in bronchial asthma in mild form.

Specific individual schemes and doses of drugs are prescribed, depending on the degree of complexity of the form of the disease, the age of the child and the presence of concomitant diseases.

What is the prognosis of recurrent obstructive bronchitis?

A child's body many diseases simply outgrow. Obstructive bronchitis is one of such diseases.

On a follow-up visit, children are present for 2-3 years after the first attack of the disease and are removed from it if there were no relapses during the period of observation. From all this it follows that recurrent obstructive bronchitis has a favorable prognosis for complete cure.