Lower respiratory tract infection

Lower respiratory tract infection
Depiction of a person with LRTI
Specialty	Pulmonology
Frequency	291 million (2015)[1]
Deaths	2.74 million (2015)[2]

Lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) is a term often used as a synonym for pneumonia but can also be applied to other types of infection including lung abscess and acute bronchitis. Symptoms include shortness of breath, weakness, fever, coughing and fatigue.^[3] A routine chest X-ray is not always necessary for people who have symptoms of a lower respiratory tract infection.^[4]

Influenza affects both the upper and lower respiratory tracts.^{[citation needed]}

Antibiotics are the first line treatment for pneumonia; however, they are neither effective nor indicated for parasitic or viral infections. Acute bronchitis typically resolves on its own with time.^{[citation needed]}

In 2015 there were about 291 million cases.^[1] These resulted in 2.74 million deaths down from 3.4 million deaths in 1990.^[5][2] This was 4.8% of all deaths in 2013.^[5]

The World Health Organization has reported that, in 2021, "Lower respiratory infections remained the world’s most deadly communicable disease other than COVID-19, ranked as the fifth leading cause of death." However, the number of deaths caused has decreased by around 13% from 2000 to 2021. ^[6]