Abstract
Twenty one cases with chronic bronchitis by the habitual smoking were forced to quit the habitus. The clinical effects of the cessation were estimated by bronchoscopic, pathologic and symptomatic analyses. Results obtained were as follows,
1) After abstaning from smoking, subjective symptoms were improved in 76% of the cases. The bronchoscopic findings showed decrease in both the redness and the swelling with redness, and the normal appearances increased remarkably. Also 19% of the cases showed an improvement of pathological changes of bronchial mucosa.Therefore, the abstinence from smoking in the patients with chronic bronchitis was an effective remedy for the improvement of clinical symptoms and bronchial mucosal pathology.
2) Eleven to 30 weeks after the abstienence of smoking, about 80% of the cases were found to be improved in clinical symptoms and bronchoscopic findings. However, from the stand point of pathological views, a longer period of time would be needed for the improvement of the bronchial mucosa.
3) On the patients with chronic bronchitis under 40 years old or under 400 Brinkman index the effects of smoking cessation was relatively poor. This fact showed that in this group the other factors would played a part in an outbreak of chronic bronchitis.
4) It was not obvious in the present study that the effect of smoking cessation had any correlation with the grade of Brinkman index. This was presumably due to the fact that in the patients on whom habitual smoking caused chronic bronchitis, the changes of bronchial mucosa would be reversible in many cases even with a high Brinkman index.
5) By means of the fractional analysis of broncho-alveolar lavage on chronic bronchitis, a remarkable increase of bronchial epitherial cells could be observed in the First FBAL (FBAL-I) fluid, as well as neutrophilic cells in the Third FBAL (FBAL-III) fluid. These cells decreased after the smoking cessation.
