INHALED THERAPIES FOR COUGH RESOLUTION IN ACUTE BRONCHITIS: SINGLE CENTER CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY FROM PAKISTAN

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was performed from March 2023 to March 2024 at an outpatient clinic at a tertiary care center in Pakistan. Patients with acute viral bronchitis were given treatment options of inhaled corticosteroid plus long-acting beta-agonists combination (ICS-LABA), and/or short-acting anti-muscarinic antagonists and/or intranasal steroids. Patients were followed for a period of 3 weeks and the subsequent information about the number of days to cough resolution and the patient satisfaction scores were taken. Results: Thirty-seven patients were studied. Majority of the participants were female (70.3%), and the mean age of patients was 43.6 ± 17.24 years. The mean duration of cough was 2.35 ± 0.89 weeks. The treatment most prescribed for acute bronchitis was inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting beta2-agonists (ICS-LABA) (73.7%), followed by antihistamines (60.5%), inhaled short-acting muscarinic-antagonist (SAMA) (44.7%), and intranasal steroids (34.2%). The mean duration of cough resolution among patients was 9.09 ± 5.04 days following the start of treatment. The mean satisfaction and improvement in quality of life (QoL) among patients was ranked at 8.14 ± 2.02 on a scale 1-10. Conclusion: In conclusion, acute viral bronchitis requires an average of 9 days of inhaled therapies to provide cough resolution. Most patients improved significantly in their QoL due to the cough, with the inhaled medications.