Treating acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis in the face of antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics can be effective against acute exacerbations of chronic bronchi tis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but with bacterial resistanc e to multiple antibiotics increasing worldwide, appropriate antibiotic sele ction is critical. Categorizing patients with acute exacerbations according to age, number of exacerbations per year, disease severity, degree of pulm onary impairment, and presence of comorbid conditions helps to direct thera py.