Asthma in adult patients presenting with symptoms of acute bronchitis in general practice

HA Thiadens*, DS Postma, GH de Bock, DAN Huysman, HC van Houwelingen, MP Springer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives - To investigate the association between asthma and acute bronchitis in adults and to ascertain criteria to help general practitioners (GPs) differentiate between acute bronchitis and asthma.

Design - Descriptive study.

Setting - Primary health care centre in The Netherlands.

Patients - 192 patients, aged 18-75 years, not known to have asthma or other pulmonary diseases, attending their GP with cough persisting for at least 2 weeks.

Methods - Patients were considered to have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on the basis of a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms, spirometry and methacholine challenge testing. They were classified as having acute bronchitis if, according to international guidelines, coughing was more frequent than normal for at least 2 weeks, but no more than 4 weeks. Furthermore, either expectoration of purulent sputum for a maximum of 2 weeks and/or rhonchi as assessed by auscultation had to be present. By means of logistic regression symptoms, signs and peak expiratory flow measurements were sought to predict which patients with acute bronchitis actually had asthma.

Results - Of the 80 (41.7%) subjects with symptoms of acute bronchitis, 29 (36.9%) were patients with asthma. within the acute bronchitis group, female sex and symptoms of current reported wheeze, reported episodes of attacks of dyspnoea over the last year and symptoms elicited by allergens were of help in identifying patients who actually had asthma.

Conclusions - A considerable proportion of the patients presenting with acute bronchitis are actually patients with asthma. The absence or presence of a few symptoms and female sex may help to differentiate between these disorders.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)188-192
Number of pages5
JournalScandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
Volume18
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Sept-2000

Keywords

  • asthma
  • acute bronchitis
  • primary health care
  • RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS
  • PERSISTENT COUGH
  • BRONCHODILATOR
  • RESPONSIVENESS
  • PRACTITIONERS
  • COMMUNITY
  • DIAGNOSIS

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Asthma in adult patients presenting with symptoms of acute bronchitis in general practice'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this