Chronic Bronchitis : Definition, Causes, Symptoms, Treatment And MCQs for NEET, GPAT, CSIR NET JRF
“Chronic bronchitis is a common condition defined clinically as persistent cough with expectoration on most days for at least three months of the year for two or more consecutive years.”
- The cough is caused by the over secretion of mucus.
- The condition is more common in middle – aged Men than females.
Above figure is taken for education purpose only from gohealthuc.com
CAUSES :-
The two most important key factor which causes chronic bronchitis are the cigarette smoking and atmospheric pollution. Other factors which causes chronic bronchitis are occupation, infection, familial and genetic factors.
A.] SMOKING : Heavy cigarette smokers have 4 to 10 times higher proneness to develop chronic bronchitis. Prolonged cigarette smoking appears to act on the lungs in a number of ways like – it impairs the ciliary movements, it inhibits the function of alveolar macrophages etc.
B.] ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION : The risk of having chronic bronchitis is higher in the industrial urban areas where air is polluted. Some atmospheric pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate dust and toxic fumes increases the rate of having chronic bronchitis.
C.] OCCUPATION : Workers working in cotton mills, plastic factories etc. have a greater risk of having chronic bronchitis.
D.] INFECTION : Cigarette smoke, however predisposes to infection responsible for acute exacerbation in chronic bronchitis.
E.] FAMILIAL AND GENETIC FACTOR : There appears to be a poorly defined familial tendency and genetic predisposition to develop disabling chronic bronchitis.
SYMPTOMS :-
In a patient suffering form chronic bronchitis have thick mucus filled in your airways which will lead to difficulty in breathing. Here, coughing happens because the small hairs present are damaged which makes you cough. So, as the infection increases it become difficult for the person to breath.
Symptoms of chronic bronchitis includes :-
- Cough, often with mucus.
- Wheezing.
- Tight chest.
- Shortness of breath.
- Feeling tired.
TREATMENT :-
Medication of chronic bronchitis include :
- Bronchodilators also called airway openers are used to treat chronic bronchitis as they relax your airway passage and allow you to breathe easily.
- For narrowing your airway passage i.e; to decrease the swelling anti – inflammatory drugs in the form of steroids are used .
- When the blood oxygen level is very low in that condition oxygen therapy is given to the patient.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS :-
1.] What is bronchitis ?
a. A type of asthma
b. Inflammation of airway in lungs
c. An allergic reaction
d. None of the above
2.] What are the two types of bronchitis ?
a. Acute and chronic bronchitis
b. Long and short bronchitis
c. Hot and cold bronchitis
d. Basic and complex bronchitis
3.] Bacteria, virus, and chemicals may cause acute bronchitis ?
a. True
b. False
4.] What is the cause of chronic bronchitis ?
a. Measles
b. Smoking
c. Allergies
d. Dust mites
5.] Bronchitis is contagious ?
a. True
b. False
c. Never
d. Sometimes
6.] If you have bronchitis ?
a. Sleep near a window
b. Drink plenty of fluids
c. Eat in every 2 hours
d. All of the above
7.] Acute bronchitis is often referred to as ?
a. A chest cold
b. Pneumonia
c. Shortness of breathe
d. Being “winded”
8.] Most people expect doctors to prescribe ?
a. True
b. False
9.] Acute bronchitis may be prevented in many people ?
a. True
b. False
c. Never
d. Sometimes
10.] The condition in which both the lungs and the bronchi are affected is called ?
a. Pneumonia
b. Bronchopneumonia
c. Both (a) and (b)
d. None of the above
SOLUTIONS :-
1.] (b) inflammation of airway in lungs
2.] (a) acute and chronic bronchitis
3.] (a)
4.] (b) smoking
5.] (d) sometimes
6.] (b) drink plenty of fluids
7.] (a) a chest cold
8.] (a)
9.] (a)
10.] (b) bronchopneumonia
List of Successful GPATINDIAN CANDIDATES
REFERENCES :-
1.] Textbook Of Pathology By Harsh Mohan; 7th edition; Page no. 458 – 459.
2.] Robbin’s Basic Pathology; 5th edition; Page no. 688 – 689.