Chronic bronchitis clinical presentation

The diagnosis of chronic bronchitis is based primarily on clinical assessment and history. By definition, any patient who reports coughing up sputum on most days for at least 3 consecutive months each year for 2 consecutive years suffers from chronic bronchitis. Table 43-1 presents a classification and treatment scheme for chronic bronchitis. 

As indicated previously, bronchospasm is often present in COPD—that is, in chronic bronchitis and emphysema.121 Chronic bronchitis is a clinical diagnosis applied to a long-standing inflammation of the bronchial tree. Emphysema is a pathologic condition marked by the destruction of alveolar walls and enlargement of the terminal air spaces. 

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