[Acute Respiratory Tract Infections/Acute Bronchitis].

Respiratory tract infections and acute bronchitis are one of the major indications for which antibiotics are prescribed. As most of respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses and antibiotic therapy is rarely indicated. Reasons for the unnecessary prescription of antibiotics in this patient population are false expectations regarding the course and duration of common cold symptoms and especially coughing. After exclusion of severe diseases acute coughing should be treated with a symptom-oriented therapy. There is no reliable data on the use of antibiotic therapy in patient groups with an increased risk for severe complications. Studies on the use of laboratory makers to identify persons with bacterial infections who might benefit from antibiotic therapy and to reduce unnecessary prescriptions have been negative for CRP and inconclusive for procalcitonin. Peer-review and delayed prescribing could be demonstrated to reduce the rate of unneeded antibiotic prescriptions. Most of the symptomatic therapies employed for cough and the common cold are not studied in methodologically sound randomized controlled trials. The most common expectorants used in Germany are Ambroxol and N-Acetylcytein. For both substances there is little data supporting a benefit in patients with an acute bronchitis. Antitussiva reduce the symptom burden, but there is also a strong placebo-effect on the cough reflex.