Lower respiratory tract infection - wikipedia Lower respiratory tract infection Lower respiratory tract infection Conducting passages Specialty pulmonology Frequency 291 million ( 2015 ) Deaths 2.74 million ( 2015 ) ( edit on Wikidata ) Lower respiratory tract infection ( LRTI ), while often used as a synonym for pneumonia, can also be applied to other types of infection including lung abscess and acute bronchitis. Symptoms include shortness of breath, weakness, fever, coughing and fatigue. There are a number of symptoms that are characteristic of lower respiratory tract infections. The two most common are bronchitis and cancer and edema. Influenza affects both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Antibiotics are the first line treatment for pneumonia ; however, they are not effective or indicated for parasitic or viral infections. Acute bronchitis typically resolves on its own with time. In 2015 there were about 291 million cases. These resulted in 2.74 million deaths down from 3.4 million deaths in 1990. This was 4.8 % of all deaths in 2013. Main article : Bronchitis Bronchitis describes the swelling or inflammation of the bronchial tubes. Additionally, bronchitis is described as either acute or chronic depending on its presentation and is also further described by the causative agent. Acute bronchitis can be defined as acute bacterial or viral infection of the larger airways in healthy patients with no history of recurrent disease. It affects over 40 adults per 1000 each year and consists of transient inflammation of the major bronchi and trachea. Most often it is caused by viral infection and hence antibiotic therapy is not indicated in immunocompetent individuals. Viral bronchitis can sometimes be treated using antiviral medications depending on the virus causing the infection, and medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs and expectorants can help mitigate the symptoms. Treatment of acute bronchitis with antibiotics is common but controversial as their use has only moderate benefit weighted against potential side effects ( nausea and vomiting ), increased resistance, and cost of treatment in a self - limiting condition. Beta2 agonists are sometimes used to relieve the cough associated with acute bronchitis. In a recent systematic review it was found there was no evidence to support their use. Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Bronchitis ( AECB ) are frequently due to non-infective causes along with viral ones. 50 % of patients are colonised with Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae or Moraxella catarrhalis. Antibiotics have only been shown to be effective if all three of the following symptoms are present : increased dyspnoea, increased sputum volume and purulence. In these cases 500 mg of Amoxycillin orally, every 8 hours for 5 days or 100 mg doxycycline orally for 5 days should be used. Contents 1 Pneumonia 2 Other causes 3 Treatment 4 Prevention 5 Epidemiology 6 Society and culture 7 References 8 External links Pneumonia Main article : Pneumonia Pneumonia occurs in a variety of situations and treatment must vary according to the situation. It is classified as either community or hospital acquired depending on where the patient contracted the infection. It is life - threatening in the elderly or those who are immunocompromised. The most common treatment is antibiotics and these vary in their adverse effects and their effectiveness. Pneumonia is also the leading cause of death in children less than five years of age in low income countries. The most common cause of pneumonia is pneumococcal bacteria, Streptococcus pneumoniae accounts for 2 / 3 of bacteremic pneumonias. This is a dangerous type of lung infection with a mortality rate of around 25 %. For optimal management of a pneumonia patient, the following must be assessed : pneumonia severity ( including treatment location, e.g., home, hospital or intensive care ), identification of causative organism, analgesia of chest pain, the need for supplemental oxygen, physiotherapy, hydration, bronchodilators and possible complications of emphysema or lung abscess. Other causes Atypical Bacterial Infections : Legionella pneumophila Mycoplasma pneumoniae Chlamydophila pneumoniae Chlamydia psittaci This list is incomplete ; you can help by expanding it. Parasitic infections : Respiratory cryptosporidiosis Viral infections : Adenovirus Influenza A virus Influenza B virus Human parainfluenza viruses Human respiratory syncytial virus SARS coronavirus Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus Aspiration pneumonia Treatment Antibiotics do not help the many lower respiratory infections which are caused by parasites or viruses. While acute bronchitis often does not require antibiotic therapy, antibiotics can be given to patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. The indications for treatment are increased dyspnoea, and an increase in the volume or purulence of the sputum. The treatment of bacterial pneumonia is selected by considering the age of the patient, the severity of the illness and the presence of underlying disease. Amoxicillin and doxycycline are suitable for many of the lower respiratory tract infections seen in general practice. Prevention Vaccination helps prevent bronchopneumonia, mostly against influenza viruses, adenoviruses, measles, rubella, streptococcus pneumoniae, haemophilus influenzae, diphtheria, bacillus anthracis, chickenpox, and bordetella pertussis. Epidemiology Deaths from lower respiratory infections per million persons in 2012 24 - 120 121 - 151 152 - 200 201 - 241 242 - 345 346 - 436 437 - 673 674 - 864 865 - 1,209 1,210 - 2,085 Disability - adjusted life year for lower respiratory infections per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004. no data less than 100 100 -- 700 700 -- 1,400 1,400 -- 2,100 2,100 -- 2,800 2,800 -- 3,500 3,500 -- 4,200 4,200 -- 4,900 4,900 -- 5,600 5,600 -- 6,300 6,300 -- 7,000 more than 7,000 Lower respiratory infectious disease is the fifth - leading cause of death and the combined leading infectious cause of death, being responsible for 2 74 million deaths worldwide. This is generally similar to estimates in the 2010 Global Burden of Disease study. This total only accounts for Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus Influenzae infections and does not account for atypical or nosocomial causes of lower respiratory disease, therefore underestimating total disease burden. Society and culture Lower respiratory tract infections place a considerable strain on the health budget and are generally more serious than upper respiratory infections. References ^ Jump up to : GBD 2015 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence, Collaborators. ( 8 October 2016 ). `` Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990 - 2015 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. ''. Lancet. 388 ( 10053 ) : 1545 -- 1602. PMC 5055577. PMID 27733282. doi : 10.1016 / S0140 - 6736 ( 16 ) 31678 - 6. ^ Jump up to : GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death, Collaborators. ( 8 October 2016 ). `` Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all - cause mortality, and cause - specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980 - 2015 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. ''. Lancet. 388 ( 10053 ) : 1459 -- 1544. PMC 5388903. PMID 27733281. doi : 10.1016 / s0140 - 6736 ( 16 ) 31012 - 1. ^ Jump up to : Antibiotic Expert Group. Therapeutic guidelines : Antibiotic. 13th ed. North Melbourne : Therapeutic Guidelines ; 2006. ^ Jump up to : GBD 2013 Mortality and Causes of Death, Collaborators ( 17 December 2014 ). `` Global, regional, and national age - sex specific all - cause and cause - specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990 - 2013 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. ''. Lancet. 385 : 117 -- 71. PMC 4340604. PMID 25530442. doi : 10.1016 / S0140 - 6736 ( 14 ) 61682 - 2. ^ Jump up to : Becker, Lorne A. ; Hom, Jeffrey ; Villasis - Keever, Miguel ; van der Wouden, Johannes C. ( 2015 - 09 - 03 ). `` Beta2 - agonists for acute cough or a clinical diagnosis of acute bronchitis ''. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews ( 9 ) : CD001726. ISSN 1469 - 493X. PMID 26333656. doi : 10.1002 / 14651858. CD001726. pub5. ^ Jump up to : BJM Clinical evidence : London, United Kingdom : BMJ, 1999 - 2007 : Accessed 29 / 3 / 7 at : http://0-www.clinicalevidence.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/ceweb/index.jsp. Jump up ^ Therapeutic guidelines : respiratory. 2nd ed : North Melbourne : Therapeutic Guidelines Limited, 2000. ^ Jump up to : Integrated pharmacology / Clive Page... ( et al. ). 2nd ed : Edinburgh : Mosby, 2002. Jump up ^ Fahey T SJ, Becker L, Glazier R ( 2004 ). `` Antibiotics for acute bronchitis ''. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 4 : CD000245. doi : 10.1002 / 14651858. CD000245. pub2. ^ Jump up to : Pakhale, Smita ; Mulpuru, Sunita ; Verheij, Theo J.M. ; Kochen, Michael M. ; Rohde, Gernot G.U. ; Bjerre, Lise M. ( 2014 - 10 - 09 ). `` Antibiotics for community - acquired pneumonia in adult outpatients ''. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews ( 10 ) : CD002109. ISSN 1469 - 493X. PMID 25300166. doi : 10.1002 / 14651858. CD002109. pub4. ^ Jump up to : Moberley S, Holden J, Tatham DP, Andrews RM ( 2013 ). Moberley S, ed. `` Vaccines for preventing pneumococcal infection in adults ''. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 1 : CD000422. PMID 23440780. doi : 10.1002 / 14651858. CD000422. pub3. ^ Jump up to : Lodha, Rakesh ; Kabra, Sushil K. ; Pandey, Ravindra M. ( 2013 - 06 - 04 ). `` Antibiotics for community - acquired pneumonia in children ''. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews ( 6 ) : CD004874. ISSN 1469 - 493X. PMID 23733365. doi : 10.1002 / 14651858. CD004874. pub4. Jump up ^ The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy. 17th ed / Mark H. Beers and Robert Berkow ed : Whitehouse Station, N.J. : Merck Research Laboratories, 1999. Jump up ^ eTG complete ( electronic resource ) ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` Mortality and Burden of Disease Estimates for WHO Member States in 2002 '' ( xls ). World Health Organization. 2002. Jump up ^ `` Estimates of the global, regional, and national morbidity, mortality, and aetiologies of lower respiratory tract infections in 195 countries : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 - The Lancet Infectious Diseases ''. Jump up ^ Lozano, R ; Naghavi, M ; Foreman, K ; Lim, S ; Shibuya, K ; Aboyans, V ; Abraham, J ; Adair, T ; Aggarwal, R ; Ahn, SY ; Alvarado, M ; Anderson, HR ; Anderson, LM ; Andrews, KG ; Atkinson, C ; Baddour, LM ; Barker - Collo, S ; Bartels, DH ; Bell, ML ; Benjamin, EJ ; Bennett, D ; Bhalla, K ; Bikbov, B ; Bin Abdulhak, A ; Birbeck, G ; Blyth, F ; Bolliger, I ; Boufous, S ; Bucello, C ; et al. ( Dec 15, 2012 ). `` Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 ''. Lancet. 380 ( 9859 ) : 2095 -- 128. PMID 23245604. doi : 10.1016 / S0140 - 6736 ( 12 ) 61728 - 0. External links Classification V T D ICD - 10 : J10 - J22, J40 - J47 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lower_respiratory_tract_infection&oldid=801764450 '' Categories : Acute lower respiratory infections Infectious diseases Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from August 2017 Incomplete lists from January 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français हिन्दी ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Edit links This page was last edited on 21 September 2017, at 18 : 11. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: acute viral infection of upper and lower respiratory tracts is called
Answer: Influenza