BRONCHITIS

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BRONCHITIS

Bronchitis is an acute and or chronic condition of the lower respiratory tract, in which there is inflammation of the air passages called bronchi that bring air into the lungs from the trachea, usually caused by an upper respiratory tract infection, characterized by cough, wheezing and dyspnea.

Bronchitis can either be:

1. Acute, this is when bronchitis is mild and brief in duration usually taking less than 2 weeks.

2. Chronic, which is recurrent bronchitis, has a prolonged course and is often a sign of a serious underlying disease.

The predisposing factors of bronchitis may include:

1. Upper respiratory tract infection, caused by viruses because this depress the ciliary mechanism thereby leading to the infection spread to the bronchi.

2. Aging, this causes degeneration of cells including those of the immune system thereby impairing it.

3. Immunosuppressive drugs like corticosteroids and chemotherapy.

4. Smoking, because it disrupt both mucociliary and macrophage activity.

5.  Very cold weather, especially in babies, disrupt the mucociliary making possible for microorganisms to invade the lower respiratory tract.

Normally, during inhalation, air enters the lungs by travelling down the trachea. Then it continues to the bronchi and bronchioles and ends up in the alveoli. The alveoli are tiny air sacs surrounded by small blood vessels called capillaries and this is where gaseous exchange takes place. Normally, the bronchi and bronchioles are flexible and springy or they expand when the inhaled air is warm, moist and free from irritants, allergens causing substances.

However, when the microorganisms gains access to the lower respiratory tract in susceptible condition, it will reach the bronchi and cause inflammation. This will lead to swelling and narrowing of the bronchi making difficulty for the inhaled air to pass through the narrowed airway resulting in difficulties in breathing. There will also be increased production of mucus secretion inside the bronchi which will further impair air passage and lead to cough and wheezing. Unfortunate, congestive cardiac failure may develop due to the added strain which the heart has to pump blood through the lungs which are highly fibrosed.

The treatment may include, broncho dilators, oxygen therapy, analgesics, cough expectorants and antibiotics if bacteria infection is present.

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