Prevention of Chronic Bronchitis Exacerbations with Ambroxol (Mucosolvan Retard)

Abstract

Different therapies can be applied for the prevention of chronic bronchitis exacerbations: vaccinations, antibiotics, immunomodulating and mucoregulating drugs. Among the latter, ambroxol was tested in a multicenter open study in 5,635 outpatients during a 6-month winter period. The results achieved in a large and heterogeneous number of patients confirm the positive trend already observed in a multicenter double-blind study versus placebo in 214 patients. Particularly significant is the decrease in the number of exacerbations with time, above all in patients with more than 2-3 episodes. In parallel, the improvement in the clinical pattern, observed through the contemporaneous assessment of respiratory signs and symptoms and of the length of antibiotic therapy, confirms the soundness of the results achieved.