Diagnosing Acute Bronchitis

Acute bronchitis has been a common respiratory illness since long that it infects and causes inflammation in the mucosa membranes of the bronchial tubes. Acute bronchitis, unlike chronic bronchitis, has a rapid onset. It does not have a reoccurring nature and the symptoms are intense, but do not persist for long.

Owing to the unspecific clinical manifestations regarding acute bronchitis, it shows the symptoms similar to various other respiratory illnesses and hence the doctors are unable to diagnose the particular illness. They can confirm the diagnosis only with the help of additional laboratory tests, but even these fail to disclose evidence sometimes. Due to all the above reasons, the patients affected with acute bronchitis can be diagnosed only after they are examined physically and elaborately.

Most of the symptoms are visible outwardly. It generates signs like chest pain, mucus producing cough, chest discomfort (intensified breath), difficulty in breathing, wheezing, shallow and rapid breathing. These can be sometimes accompanied by a mild fever. If the fever intensifies, it is an indication of the presence of complications, referring to severe bacterial or mycoplasmal infection. If the fever prolongs, it shows that the infection has spread to the lungs causing pneumonia.

Mucus production while coughing is the symptom that is specific for acute bronchitis. Cough alone is not enough to diagnose it, but its intensity and frequency matters. Cough is normally the first symptom that occurs among acute bronchitis affected people, intensifying in a few days after the incubation period. Some of the patients may have it only for a week or two, while in many others, cough persist for at least six weeks. If this prolongs for 8 weeks, it may indicate the illness developing to chronic bronchitis.

The color and texture of the mucus that is expelled out are the chief indicators to identify how serious the disease is. In case, the mucus is clear and colorless, it may reveal the infectious nature of acute bronchitis.

In contrast, if the mucus is yellow or dark in color, it may indicate a bacterial infection in the bronchial membranes. If the cough is blood-producing, it reveals the severe types of acute bronchitis, indicating that the lungs are affected by the infection (pneumonia). A large number of patients may experience a cough exacerbation in night or early hours of morning.

Though medical sciences have seen more progresses, acute bronchitis cannot be diagnosed as easily as being mentioned. Radiography, pulse oximetry and spirometry are used rarely for this diagnosis. These are recommended for patients in complicated conditions of acute bronchitis.