Investigations in chronic bronchitis

Evaluation to assist in confirmation of the diagnosis of chronic bronchitis include (1):

• CBC with differential
• Serum procalcitonin – differentiate bacterial from non-bacterial
• Chest x-ray – especially in elderly or when physical findings suggestive of pneumonia
• Sputum culture – when bacterial infection is suspected
• Other helpful tests – oxygen saturation, pulmonary function test

Investigations will usually demonstrate:

• hypercapnia
• hypoxaemia with polycythaemia
• elevated plasma bicarbonate
• sometimes severe nocturnal hypoxaemia
• moderate airways obstruction
• approximately normal lung capacity
• little or no reduction in transfer factor

Reference:

• (1) Widysanto A, Mathew G. Chronic Bronchitis. [Updated 2022 Jul 12]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482437/