History
The condition of bronchitis has been recognised for many centuries, in several different cultures including the Ancient Greek, Chinese, and Indian, with the presence of excess phlegm and cough noted in recognition of the same condition. Early treatments of chronic bronchitis included garlic, cinnamon and ipecac, among others. Modern treatments were developed during the second half of the 20th century.In Britain in 1808, a physician Charles Badham was the first person to describe the condition and name the acute form as acute bronchitis. This was written of in a book entitled Inflammatory conditions of the bronchia. In this book Badham distinguished three forms of bronchitis including acute and chronic. A second edition of this book was renamed An Essay on Bronchitis and published in 1814. Bradham used the term catarrh to refer to the cardinal symptoms of chronic cough and mucus hypersecretion of chronic bronchitis, and described chronic bronchitis as a disabling disorder.In 1901 an article was published on the treatment of chronic bronchitis in the elderly. The symptoms described have remained unchanged. The cause was thought to be brought on by dampness, cold weather, and foggy conditions, and treatments were aimed towards various cough mixtures, respiratory stimulants, and tonics. It was noted that something other than the weather was thought to be at play. Exacerbations of the condition were also described at this time. Another physician Harry Campbell was referred to who had written in the British Medical Journal a week before.
GOLD also supports the use of some mucolytics that are advised against when inhaled corticosteroids are being used, and singles out erdosteine as having good effects regardless of corticosteroid use. Erdosteine also has antioxidant properties. Erdosteine has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of exacerbations, shorten their duration, and hospital stays. In those with the chronic bronchitic phenotype of COPD, the phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor roflumilast may decrease significant exacerbations. Epidemiology
Chronic bronchitis affects about 3.4% to 22% of the general population. Individuals over 45 years of age, smokers, those that live or work in areas with high air pollution, and anybody with asthma all have a higher risk of developing chronic bronchitis. This wide range is due to the different definitions of chronic bronchitis that can be diagnosed based on signs and symptoms or the clinical diagnosis of the disorder. Chronic bronchitis tends to affect men more often than women. While the primary risk factor for chronic bronchitis is smoking, there is still a 4%-22% chance that non smokers can get chronic bronchitis. This might suggest other risk factors such as the inhalation of fuels, dusts, fumes and genetic factor. In the United States, in 2016, 8.6 million people were diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, and there were 518 reported deaths. Per 100,000 of population the death rate of chronic bronchitis was 0.2.