Abstract
BackgroundAcute bronchitis is one of the most prevalent respiratory infections in primary care, and in more than 90% of the cases antibiotics are prescribed, mainly when purulent expectoration is present. However, this process is usually viral in origin and the benefits of antibiotic treatment are marginal. On the other hand, in recent years bronchitis has been considered more as an inflammatory than an infectious process. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a schedule of an oral anti-inflammatory compared with an antibiotic regimen and another group assigned to receive a placebo.Methods and designA total of 420 patients from 15 to 70 years of age with no associated comorbidity, presenting respiratory tract infection of at least one week of evolution, with cough as the predominant symptom, the presence of purulent expectoration and at least one other symptom of the respiratory tract (dyspnoea, wheezing, chest discomfort or pain), with no alternative explanation such as pneumonia, will be included in a prospective, randomised and controlled, clinical trial with placebo. The patients will be randomised to receive one of three treatments: ibuprofen, amoxycillin and clavulanic acid or placebo for 10 days. The main outcome measure is the number of days with frequent cough defined by the symptom diary with a score of 1 or more.DiscussionThis trial is designed to evaluate the number of days with frequent cough with anti-inflammatory treatment compared with antimicrobial treatment and placebo in previously healthy patients with a clinical picture of acute bronchitis and purulent expectoration. It is hypothesized that anti-inflammatory treatment is more effective than antibiotic treatment to reduce cough, which is the most disturbing symptom for patients with this infection.Trial registrationISRCTN07852892
Highlights
IntroductionAcute bronchitis is one of the most prevalent respiratory infections in primary care, and in more than 90% of the cases antibiotics are prescribed, mainly when purulent expectoration is present
This trial is designed to evaluate the number of days with frequent cough with anti-inflammatory treatment compared with antimicrobial treatment and placebo in previously healthy patients with a clinical picture of acute bronchitis and purulent expectoration
It is hypothesized that anti-inflammatory treatment is more effective than antibiotic treatment to reduce cough, which is the most disturbing symptom for patients with this infection
Summary
Acute bronchitis is one of the most prevalent respiratory infections in primary care, and in more than 90% of the cases antibiotics are prescribed, mainly when purulent expectoration is present. This process is usually viral in origin and the benefits of antibiotic treatment are marginal. Acute bronchitis is a clinical term which implies a selflimiting infection of the large airways and is characterized by clinical manifestations of cough without pneumonia [1] This process affects approximately 5% of adults annually with a greater incidence in the winter. In healthy adults, the positive predictive value of purulent sputum for the presence of alveolar disease is low, being of approximately 10% [9]
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