Part II. Diseases of the Respiratory System

Chapter 16. Low Respiratory Tract Infections

Introduction

Low respiratory tract infections (LRTI) occupy a leading place in the structure of morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. The annual LRTI burden estimated by such indicator as disability-adjusted life years (DALY) reaches 94.5 million (6.2% of the total structure), and among the causes of death, LRTI takes the third place after cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

There is no generally accepted classification of LRTI. Among the nosological entities, infections of the low respiratory tract properly, which include acute bronchitis (AB), exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and COPD, LRTI in bronchiectasis (BE) and cystic fibrosis, infections of the lung parenchyma and pleura (Fig. 16.1) are distinguished.

Fig. 16.1. Classification of low respiratory tract infections by localization

Equally important from the point of treatment tactics is the division of LRTI into community-acquired and nosocomial (hospital-acquired) — for more details see section “Pneumonia”.

From a practical point of view, the International Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death (ICD) is also popular, according to which LRTI are classified in different categories — J10–J18 “Influenza and pneumonia”, J20–J22 “Other acute lower respiratory infections”, J40–J47 “Chronic lower respiratory diseases”, J85–J86 “Suppurative and necrotic conditions of lower respiratory tract”, J90–J94 “Other diseases of pleura”.