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Chronic Bronchitis and its Etiology
Hello friends now let’s start off with a new topic which is chronic Bronchitis which comes under obstructive pulmonary diseases that is COPD. In
This video we will be discussing about the basic definition of chronic bronchitis and the Etiology.
So, starting off with the definition, what do we mean by chronic bronchitis?
It can be defined as the long-term inflammation of the bronchi leading to productive cough of more than 3 months occurring within a span of 2 years.
Now let’s come to know about the etiology
The most common cause is tobacco smoking .
The second if there is a long exposure to air pollutants, dust and other irritants .
And the people with respiratory diseases like
Asthma , cystic fibrosis
Also the cough is known as smoker’s cough .
In the next video we will learn about the clinical manifestations, Thank you!
Clinical Manifestations of Chronic Bronchitis
Hello friends, in this video we will talk about the clinical manifestations of chronic bronchitis.
So, what are the clinical manifestations?
They include:
Productive cough with mucus hypersecretion
We can see shortness of breath
We can see fatigue
Fourth Wheezing, it is seen when the patient is breathing out
Fifth is we can see Discomfort
Sore throat
Blocked sinuses
And the patients are usually obese.
if the treatment isn’t done in a proper way it can lead to cor pulmonale in the later stages of the disease.
So, this is all about the clinical manifestations, see you in the next video. Thank you!
Pathophysiology of Chronic Bronchitis
Hello friends in this video we will be learning about the pathophysiology of chronic Bronchitis.
Now 90 percent of the patients are tobacco smokers and 10 percent of the cases are due to air pollutants, now the constant irritants from the tobacco smoke will lead to the hypertrophy of submucosal glands of the bronchial line which will cause in increase in number of goblet cells. So, what are goblet cells? they’re the protective secretion of the body against the pollutants and irritants. And then there will be excess mucus secretion which causes the smooth muscles in the airways to become thicker and narrowing of the bronchioles leads to the cilia to become unable to cope with the excessive secretion leading to the blocking of airways. The entire process is reversible upto here.
Now if the mucus goes deeper into the lungs, it becomes harder to clear, and the walls of bronchioles become inflamed.
But the continuous inflammation causes gradual destruction of the bronchioles.
Now this is irreversible.
If this keeps on continuing the inflammation will speed to the blood vessels leading to capillary bed wall atrophy which will lead to the increase in the pulmonary pressure.
So, this is all about the pathophysiology. See you in the next video, Thank you!
Diagnosis of Chronic Bronchitis
Hello friends welcome back to another video, in this video we will be learning about the diagnosis of chronic bronchitis.
Now let us look into it:
If the productive cough is At least about for 3 months for two consecutive years, then it is diagnosed clinically.
Then we can go for pulmonary function testing, which is also called spirometry. Bronchodilators is given to confirm the presence of chronic bronchitis. Here if the FEV1 to FVC ratio is less than 0.7 then it is confirmed the patient is suffering from Chronic Bronchitis.
Then we can do chest x ray as well
And the last one Reid index:
It is nonspecific and usually a postmortem finding. But it doesn’t belong under the criteria of diagnosis.
The Reid index increases due to the increase in number of submucosal glands.
This is all about the diagnosis, in the next video we will be learning about the treatment, Thank you!
Treatment of Chronic Bronchitis
Hello friends, Now the last topic which is important to know that is the treatment,
How do we treat the patients with chronic Bronchitis?
The first and the foremost we should ask the patients to stop smoking.
Then oxygen therapy is recommended
We can give bronchodilators like Formoterol and Salmeterol.
We can give inhaled corticosteroids
Antibiotics are also given in case of secondary infection, like if the patient is suffering from pneumonia.
Pulmonary rehabilitation
And the last mechanical validation support.
This is all about chronic bronchitis, I hope you all liked it, Thank you!