title: Effectiveness of anti-inflammatory treatment versus antibiotic therapy and placebo for patients with non-complicated acute bronchitis with purulent sputum. The BAAP Study protocol.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acute bronchitis is one of the most prevalent respiratory infections in primary care, and in more than 90% of the cases antibiotics are prescribed, mainly when purulent expectoration is present. However, this process is usually viral in origin and the benefits of antibiotic treatment are marginal. On the other hand, in recent years bronchitis has been considered more as an inflammatory than an infectious process. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a schedule of an oral anti-inflammatory compared with an antibiotic regimen and another group assigned to receive a placebo.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 420 patients from 15 to 70 years of age with no associated comorbidity, presenting respiratory tract infection of at least one week of evolution, with cough as the predominant symptom, the presence of purulent expectoration and at least one other symptom of the respiratory tract (dyspnoea, wheezing, chest discomfort or pain), with no alternative explanation such as pneumonia, will be included in a prospective, randomised and controlled, clinical trial with placebo. The patients will be randomised to receive one of three treatments: ibuprofen, amoxycillin and clavulanic acid or placebo for 10 days. The main outcome measure is the number of days with frequent cough defined by the symptom diary with a score of 1 or more.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This trial is designed to evaluate the number of days with frequent cough with anti-inflammatory treatment compared with antimicrobial treatment and placebo in previously healthy patients with a clinical picture of acute bronchitis and purulent expectoration. It is hypothesized that anti-inflammatory treatment is more effective than antibiotic treatment to reduce cough, which is the most disturbing symptom for patients with this infection.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ISRCTN07852892.
authors.affiliation: University Rovira i Virgili, Primary Healthcare Centre Jaume I, Tarragona, Spain. carles.llor@urv.cat
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Llor
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moragas
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bayona
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morros
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pera
authors.forename: Josep M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cots
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miravitlles
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boada
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000658:Amoxicillin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019818:Clavulanic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003371:Cough / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007052:Ibuprofen / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013030:Spain; D013183:Sputum; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D019818:Clavulanic Acid; D000658:Amoxicillin; D007052:Ibuprofen