eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Pulmonary

Bronchitis: Follow-up

Author: Samuel Ong, MD, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center-Olive View
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jan 14, 2009

Follow-up

Deterrence/Prevention

  • Patients with underlying cardiopulmonary disease should receive annual influenza vaccinations.
  • In certain locations, such as in nursing homes, amantadine or rimantadine have been administered when an index case is found until the vaccine has had a chance to take effect. However, because of increasing resistance, their routine use has been discouraged by the CDC beginning in 2005 in favor of neuraminidase inhibitors.
  • Influenza vaccination of healthy patients may reduce absenteeism.

Complications

  • Fewer than 5% of patients with bronchitis develop pneumonia. Incidence of subsequent pneumonia, however, remains unaffected by the use of antibiotics.

Prognosis

  • For the vast majority of patients, the prognosis is excellent.

Patient Education

 


More on Bronchitis

Overview: Bronchitis
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Bronchitis
Treatment & Medication: Bronchitis
Follow-up: Bronchitis
References
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Further Reading

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Samuel Ong, MD, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center-Olive View
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

David FM Brown, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Vice Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
David FM Brown, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Managing Editor

Paul Blackburn, DO, FACOEP, FACEP, Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Maricopa Medical Center; Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona
Paul Blackburn, DO, FACOEP, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, and Arizona Medical Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Robert E O'Connor, MD, MPH, Professor and Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Virginia Health System
Robert E O'Connor, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physician Executives, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, Medical Society of Delaware, National Association of EMS Physicians, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Wilderness Medical Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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