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Cough (including PBB)

Checked: 06-08-2024 by Vicky Ryan Next Review: 05-06-2026

Persistent Bacterial Bronchitis (PBB)

Persistent Bacterial Bronchitis (PBB) is a common cause of chronic wet cough in early childhood. It should be considered as a diagnosis when a child presents to a healthcare professional with an isolated wet cough lasting 4 weeks or more, with an absence of symptoms or signs suggestive of other disease. It typically occurs in children aged 0-6 years but can occur in older subjects (1).

Further information on diagnosis, treatment and when to refer are included in the Persistent Bacterial Bronchitis in children guidlines provided by Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Please note this appears in the 'P' section.

Caring for children with coughs

Please see Caring for children with coughs in the Parents Information Leaflets section.

Resources

(1) When the Cough Does Not Improve: A Review on Protracted Bacterial Bronchitis in Children - PMC



Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.