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Chest infections - adult - Management
How do I know my patient has acute bronchitis or community-acquired pneumonia?
Symptoms and signs of acute bronchitis and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP):
- Cough is the predominant symptom present in both acute bronchitis and CAP.
- A combination of symptoms and signs have been shown to have a high sensitivity for diagnosing CAP.
- The British Thoracic Society recommend using differentiating clinical features as an aid to diagnosing CAP and distinguishing it from acute bronchitis. Clinical judgement must always be used in combination with these recommendations because:
- No combination of symptoms or signs are clearly diagnostic for CAP.
- Elderly people with CAP present more frequently with non-specific symptoms, and are less likely to have a fever compared with younger people.
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