Eosinophilic Bronchitis 2000.7.27

Eosinophilic Bronchitis 2000.7.27

Brightling conducted a study on patients with chronic cough lasting more than two years and found that eosinophilic chronic bronchitis is the primary cause of chronic cough. This condition manifests as chronic cough with increased eosinophils in sputum, but without the airway dysfunction characteristic of asthma. Adrenal corticosteroids are effective for treating this condition. A sputum examination revealing more than 3% eosinophils is a hallmark of this disease; among 90 patients with chronic cough, 12 were diagnosed with this condition, accounting for 20%; 20 had rhinitis, accounting for 35%; 16 had asthma, accounting for 30%; viral infections accounted for 20%; and gastroesophageal reflux accounted for 8%. Currently, the most effective treatment for this condition is inhaled budesonide, 400 µg twice daily.