Bronchial Breath Sounds: Types, Causes, and Clinical Significance

Bronchial Breath Sounds: Types, Causes, and Clinical Significance

Question. Write a short note on bronchial breathing.

Answer. Bronchial breathing is blowing or hollow, the inspiratory phase equals the expiratory phase, and there is a pause between the two.

1. Bronchial breathing may be low-pitched (Cavernous) medium medium-pitched, or high-pitched (tubular).
   Low-pitched bronchial breathing is heard over moderately large cavities in the lung, and in the case of open pneumothorax.
2. High-pitched or tubular breathing is heard where consolidation of the lung has occurred around small-sized bronchial tubes as in consolidation of the lung, lobar pneumonia, malignant disease, pulmonary infarction, and pleural effusion.
3. Another variety of bronchial breathing is amphoric, which is like blowing across a bottle and has a distinct ‘echo-like’ quality.
   It is heard over a large cavity with a smooth wall, or in the case of pneumothora,x in direct contact with a bronchus.

Bronchial Breath Sounds: Types, Causes, and Clinical Significance

Question. Write the important causes of pitting edema.
Answer: The following are the causes of pitting edema:

• Ingestion of excessive salt
• Due to steroids
• Premenstrual
• Due to portal obstruction
• Due to obstruction of the inferior vena cava
• In beri beri
• Anemia and hypoproteinemia
• Epidemic dropsy
• Pregnancy
• Miscellaneous: Dermatomyositis, Raynaud’s
• phenomenon and old age
• If pitting remains for more than a minute most likely cause is congestion
• If pitting remains for 40 seconds, it is caused by hypoalbuminemia

Types of Bronchial Breath Sounds and Their Causes

Question. Write a short note on drug fever. 

Answer. Drug fever is a prolonged fever and belongs to any febrile pattern.

• In drug fever, there is relative bradycardia and hypotension. Pruritus, skin rash, and arthralgia may occur.
• It begins 1 to 3 weeks after the drug is started and persists for 2 to 3 days after the drug is withdrawn.
• Eosinophilia may be present.
• Almost all drugs may lead to drug fever.
• Drugs that commonly lead to drug fever are sulphonamide, penicillin, iodide, antitubercular drugs, methyldopa, anti­convulsants, and propylthiouracil.