title: Solutions for difficult diagnostic cases of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis.
abstract: Acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) is a very common condition, which presents with deteriorating sputum production and dyspnoea in a patient with pre-existing COPD or chronic bronchitis. As these symptoms are relatively non-specific and also the presenting feature of a wide range of other conditions, the physician should carefully consider the differential diagnosis before deciding on whether or not a patient indeed has AECB. The differential diagnosis can be summarised as pneumonia, pneumothorax, cardiac failure/cor pulmonale, bronchiectasis, asthma, tuberculosis, sinusitis and other forms of upper respiratory tract sepsis, diffuse panbronchiolitis, lung cancer, gastro-oesophageal reflux, the presence of a foreign body in the airway, melioidosis, and lung abscess. This article aims to discuss these conditions, with brief presentation of clinical cases, in the evaluation of differential diagnosis of AECB.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China. kwttsang@hku.hk
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Tsang
mesh_terms: D029481:Bronchitis, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013183:Sputum / Q000378:metabolism