Twin cities: Cases of acute bronchitis, asthma complications on the rise

Islamabad: The number of cases of acute bronchitis and asthma complications is continuously on the rise in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi mainly because of extreme fall in mercury in this region of the country and careless attitude of patients suffering from asthma.

Data collected by ‘The News’ has revealed that both the private and public sector healthcare facilities have been receiving significantly higher number of patients with the problems for the last two months as well over 1000 patients with respiratory distress have been reported at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

Most of the patients being presented with respiratory distress were with asthma or bronchitis while a good number of patients were overlapped cases of asthma and bronchitis.

The PIMS had to admit well over 100 patients in wards for treatment of asthma and acute bronchitis while few were provided treatment at intensive care unit of the hospital, said Deputy Director at PIMS Dr. Waseem Ahmed Khawaja while talking to ‘The News’ on Sunday.

He said it has been observed that majority of patients with acute bronchitis or with complications of asthma reached hospital after developing severe symptoms and it shows carelessness on the part of the patients. He added that the PIMS has adequate facilities for treatment of asthma and bronchitis but late presentation of patients made a number of patients serious in nature.

It is important that a number of factors are responsible for increase in number of cases, the main reason being that majority of our population do not opt for vaccinations against flu and pneumonia. Even patients with pre-existing lung diseases do not give much attention to vaccination, said Dr. Khawaja.

Health experts say that self-medication is another cause behind rise in number of cases with complications of asthma and bronchitis as unnecessary use of broad spectrum antibiotics without prescription from a qualified doctor results in multidrug resistant infections.

Acute bronchitis also known as a chest cold is short-term inflammation of airways of the lungs with symptoms including cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, fever and chest discomfort however it lasts from few days to 10 days in most of the cases.

Dr. Khawaja said most of the patients with respiratory tract infections do not follow quarantine or isolation at home that results in spread of the disease along with asthma and bronchitis attacks. He said it was also observed that majority of patients were unaware of preventive measures needed to avoid asthma attacks while a good number of patients do not follow their physicians’ advice on treatment protocols.

It is important that status asthmaticus, a severe condition in which asthma attacks follow one another without pause, is a life threatening condition and patient needs ICU admission for its management. Inability to complete sentences, drowsiness, bluish discoloration of fingers and face and no response to routine medicines along with agitation restlessness are main symptoms of it.

Patients suffering from asthma should strictly avoid exposure to extreme cold and should not stay outside homes from evening till morning if possible, said Dr. Khawaja. He said the asthma patients should avoid dust, smoke, exertion, heavy exercises and prolonged use of gas heaters.