Abstract
Tobacco smoke can alter both the structural and the immunologic defenses of the lungs against infection. The gases from smoke can also inhibit repair of the damages they create. Smokers have been found to have increased bacterial adherence to the respiratory tract, decreased IgA and IgG, and a decrease in vital capacity two to three times greater than that of nonsmokers. These and other respiratory tract alterations put smokers at an added disadvantage when acute lower respiratory tract infections strike. A history of smoking influences the diagnosis of respiratory tract infections because smokers are more prone than nonsmokers to infection by certain organisms. The major causes and characteristics of lower respiratory tract infections, methods of outpatient diagnosis, and the pros and cons of various modes of therapy are discussed.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of the American Osteopathic Association |
| Volume | 92 |
| State | Published - Jan 1 1992 |
Keywords
- Bacterial Infections
- Lower respiratory tract infections
- Lung
- Lung Diseases
- Mycoplasma pneumoniae
- Sputum
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
- amoxicillin
- amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid
- ampicillin
- antibiotic agent
- bacterial pneumonia
- bacterium adherence
- cell damage
- cell regeneration
- chronic obstructive lung disease
- cotrimoxazole
- enzyme defect
- erythromycin
- goblet cell
- haemophilus influenzae
- human
- immune defense mechanisms
- immunity
- infection risk
- legionella
- lower respiratory tract infection
- mucociliary transport
- mycoplasma pneumonia
- penicillin g
- priority journal
- respiratory function
- review
- smokers
- smoking
- sputum analysis
- streptococcus pneumonia
- tetracycline
- vital capacity
Disciplines
- Medicine and Health Sciences