Occupational history quality in patients with newly documented, clinician-diagnosed chronic bronchitis.

Background: Approximately 15% of cases of COPD, including chronic bronchitis, is attributable to occupational exposures. An occupational history is essential to identify exposures responsible for work-related chronic bronchitis.

Methods: We conducted a structured retrospective analysis of the medical records of veterans, 18 to 70 years of age, newly diagnosed with chronic bronchitis in order to achieve the following: (1) to assess the quality of documented occupational histories; and (2) to characterize the management of patients with a history of exposure to a potentially hazardous respiratory substance.