A Clinical Profile of Chronic Bacterial Pneumonia

Chronic Bacterial Pneumonia

“…Four patients in this series had non-neoplastic bronchial obstruction and distal pneumonia (Kirtland et al, 1994). One patient had aspirated a vitamin tablet, two had aspirated vegetable matter, and one patient had an airway cicatrix after surgical bronchoplasty for bronchogenic carcinoma without evidence of recurrent lung cancer.…”

“…In the study by Kirtland et al (1994), 75 of 115 patients (68%) had some underlying predisposing illness, whereas 40 (35%) had no recognizable predisposing disease to explain their infection (Table 1). Obstructive lung disease was the most common underlying illness.…”

“…Other predisposing conditions included interstitial lung disease, nonneoplastic endobronchial obstruction, bronchiectasis, and assorted systemic illnesses. Nineteen of the 20 patients with systemic disease had a previously recognized illness with chronic bacterial pneumonia occurring as a late complication (Kirtland et al, 1994).…”

“…Onset of illness is typically insidious without a defining acute event; duration of symptoms before diagnosis averages more than 5 months (Kerschner & Adams, 1948;Kirtland et al, 1994;Scadding, 1938;Silver et al, 1965;Solomon, 1940;Waddell et al, 1948). Cough is present in 90% of cases, but it is productive of sputum in less than half (Kirtland et al, 1994). Dyspnea is noted in approximately 50%.…”

“…Constitutional symptoms are common and include malaise and weight loss. Fever is found in a minority (22%) (Kirtland et al, 1994). Most patients have taken at least one course of antibiotics, often with some transient improvement.…”