Table 4. Summary of treatment recommendations from included African standard treatment guidelines for acute and chronic bronchitis for adult patient populations, 2001–2019.
| Country | Recommended first-line drug selection (dosage)a | Treatment duration |
|---|---|---|
| Acute bronchitis | ||
| Eswatini13 | Antibiotics are not indicated for uncomplicated bronchitis, but if purulent treat with amoxicillin (500 mg every 8 hours) | 4 or more days |
| Ghana17 | Amoxicillin (500 mg 8 hourly) or amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (one 500/125 tablet 12 hourly); double the dose if severe | 7 days |
| Kenya18 | Amoxicillin (250–500 mg three times a day) or tetracycline | 5 days |
| Malawi21 | Amoxycillin (500 mg three times/day) or doxycycline (200 mg on first day followed by 100 mg once/day) | 5 days |
| Nigeria24 | Not required unless clear evidence of primary bacterial etiology or secondary bacterial infection | Not applicable |
| Seychelles26 | Consider 7-day delayed antibiotic with symptomatic advice/leaflet. Care should be taken to exclude a differential diagnosis of pneumonia. Antibiotics are not indicated in people who are otherwise well. Routine follow-up is not necessary. However, patients should be advised to seek advice if their condition deteriorates significantly, or symptoms persist for longer than 3 weeks. Consider antibiotics for those with pre-existing conditions that impair their ability to fight infection or are likely to deteriorate with acute bronchitis | Not applicable |
| United Republic of Tanzania40 | There is no benefit from antibiotic use. Pertussis is the only indication for antibacterial agents in the treatment of acute bronchitis | Not applicable |
| Zimbabwe43 | No antibiotics required | Not applicable |
| Chronic bronchitis | ||
| Eswatini13 | If there is infection, treat with amoxicillin (500 mg every 8 hours) | Not specified |
| Gambia16 | For secondary infection: amoxicillin (500 mg 8 hourly) or erythromycin (500 mg 6 hourly) or azithromycin (500 mg daily) | Amoxicillin, erythromycin: 7 days Azithromycin: 3 days |
| Liberia20 | Co-trimoxazole (960 mg every 12 hours) or amoxicillin (500 mg over 8 hours) | 5 days |
| Zimbabwe43 | Treat with antibiotics (amoxicillin 500 mg three times/day) or doxycycline (100 mg once/day for 7 days) if sputum colour has changed to purulent, if there is fever or new chest X-ray infiltrates | 7 days |
a We summarized treatment recommendations from the standard treatment guidelines and edited for grammar, clarity and/or length.