N-acetylcysteine – a drug for basic and symptomatic therapy of chronic bronchitis/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Prevention and successful treatment of the disease exacerbations are crucial for patients with chronic bronchitis (CB) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). At present, a sufficient number of efforts are being made to improve both prevention of exacerbations in patients with stable disease progression and treatment of the exacerbations. According to international and domestic recommendations, mucolytic drugs are among the key therapies for both bronchitis phenotype of COPD and chronic bronchitis, the main clinical manifestation of which is a long-term productive cough. The aim of the review is to analyze modern literature data that reflect the role of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in prevention of exacerbations during the stable course and treatment of exacerbations of chronic bronchitis and COPD.