title: Canadian guidelines for the management of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis.
abstract: Acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB) account for over 1.5 million physician visits annually in Canada and are a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. This document represents a joint effort between respirologists, microbiologists, infectious disease specialists and family physicians to update the Canadian AECB guidelines published in 1994. Treatment recommendations are graded on the strength of evidence in the published literature where possible. The role for oral corticosteroid therapy in preventing treatment failures, speeding up recovery and delaying the time to next exacerbation is discussed. Risk factors for treatment failure were used to stratify patients into risk groups to help guide antibiotic treatment recommendations. The importance of emerging antimicrobial resistance to current antibiotics is reviewed and strategies to prevent future AECB episodes are suggested.
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. mbalter@mtsinai.on.ca
authors.forename: Meyer S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Balter
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: La Forge
authors.forename: Donald E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mandell
authors.forename: Ronald F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Grossman
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D029481:Bronchitis, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D017211:Treatment Failure
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents