Acute bronchitis

Duration of illness

Nearly all patients with acute bronchitis recover within 6 weeks of their initial symptoms. Patients generally return to full function with no residual symptoms following acute bronchitis.

Recurrence

Recurrence of acute bronchitis is common in subsequent viral infection seasons, especially in smokers.

Counselling opportunities

Because recurrent infections are more common in smokers, clinicians can use the acute bronchitis episode as a stimulus to attempt to motivate the patient to stop using cigarettes.