Patient Education

• Encourage patient to increase fluid intake to help prevent drying of bronchial secretions & to assist in clearing of sputum
• Advise bed rest esp when fatigue & fever are prominent
• Patient should eliminate cough triggers (eg dust & dander)
• Increase humidity w/ vaporized air treatments in dry environments

• Severity of acute bronchitis attacks may be increased by exposure to cigarette smoke & air pollutants, thus avoid second-hand smoke exposure
• In a patient who smokes, this may be a good opportunity to encourage smoking cessation

• Antibiotic therapy is not justified because acute bronchitis is primarily a viral illness
  • Exception is confirmed or probable bacterial infection (eg whooping cough)
  • Management should be individualized & adequately explained to patients
• There is evidence that patient satisfaction does not depend on receiving antibiotics but on the quality of the patient-physician communication
• Quality of patient-physician communication may be increased by reviewing the following w/ the patient:
  • Antibiotics provide little or no benefit in treatment of the disease
  • Risk of unnecessary antibiotic use (eg infection w/ resistant bacteria, GI side effects, risk of allergic reactions)
  • Condition is not serious & is expected to improve w/o antibiotics
  • Cough is part of the body’s defense mechanism & duration of cough may last 10-21 days

• Patient should be advised to contact their health care provider if their condition worsens

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