A multicentre surveillance study on the characteristics, bacterial aetiologies and in vitro antibiotic susceptibilities in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis.

Background And Objective: Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem and the prevalence is high in many Asian countries.

Methods: A prospective observational study of the prevalence of bacterial pathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibilities in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB) was conducted in Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong from August 2006 to April 2008. The diagnosis of AECB was based on increased cough and worsening of two of following: dyspnoea, increased sputum volume or purulence.