Acute bronchitis
Complications
Complication
Timeframe
Likelihood
short term
low
About 25% of patients will cough for >4 weeks, and a subset of these will cough for up to 6 months (post-bronchitis syndrome).[7] Treatment for persistent cough should be with salbutamol or similar short-acting bronchodilators as needed, until the cough resolves.
Evaluation for other causes of persistent cough should be considered (e.g., asthmatic cough/eosinophilic bronchitis, reflux, postnasal drip syndrome, upper airways cough syndrome).[32]
short term
low
Pneumonia is a possible complication of acute bronchitis and should be considered especially in older people.
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