Bronchorrhea is the production of more than 100 mL per day of watery sputum. Chronic bronchitis is a common cause, but it may also be caused by asthma, pulmonary contusion, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis, cancer, scorpion stings, severe hypothermia and poisoning by organophosphates and other poisons. Massive bronchorrhea may occur in either bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, or in metastatic cancer that is growing in a bronchioloalveolar pattern. It commonly occurs in the setting of chest wall trauma, in which setting it can cause lobar atelectasis.

Treatment options include

- gefitinib - epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor

- indomethacin

- corticosteroids

- octreotide

- radiation therapy

- bronchoscopy as is often done in the post traumatic setting.

Presentation may be subtle; people with mild contusion may have no symptoms at all. However, pulmonary contusion is frequently associated with signs (objective indications) and symptoms (subjective states), including those indicative of the lung injury itself and of accompanying injuries. Because gas exchange is impaired, signs of low blood oxygen saturation, such as low concentrations of oxygen in arterial blood gas and cyanosis (bluish color of the skin and mucous membranes) are commonly associated. Dyspnea (painful breathing or difficulty breathing) is commonly seen, and tolerance for exercise may be lowered. Rapid breathing and a rapid heart rate are other signs. With more severe contusions, breath sounds heard through a stethoscope may be decreased, or rales (an abnormal crackling sound in the chest accompanying breathing) may be present. People with severe contusions may have bronchorrhea (the production of watery sputum). Wheezing and coughing are other signs. Coughing up blood or bloody sputum is present in up to half of cases. Cardiac output (the volume of blood pumped by the heart) may be reduced, and hypotension (low blood pressure) is frequently present. The area of the chest wall near the contusion may be tender or painful due to associated chest wall injury.

Signs and symptoms take time to develop, and as many as half of cases are asymptomatic at the initial presentation. The more severe the injury, the more quickly symptoms become apparent. In severe cases, symptoms may occur as quickly as three or four hours after the trauma. Hypoxemia (low oxygen concentration in the arterial blood) typically becomes progressively worse over 24–48 hours after injury. In general, pulmonary contusion tends to worsen slowly over a few days, but it may also cause rapid deterioration or death if untreated.

Pulmonary contusion and laceration are injuries to the lung tissue. Pulmonary laceration, in which lung tissue is torn or cut, differs from pulmonary contusion in that the former involves disruption of the macroscopic architecture of the lung, while the latter does not. When lacerations fill with blood, the result is pulmonary hematoma, a collection of blood within the lung tissue. Contusion involves hemorrhage in the alveoli (tiny air-filled sacs responsible for absorbing oxygen), but a hematoma is a discrete clot of blood not interspersed with lung tissue. A collapsed lung can result when the pleural cavity (the space outside the lung) accumulates blood (hemothorax) or air (pneumothorax) or both (hemopneumothorax). These conditions do not inherently involve damage to the lung tissue itself, but they may be associated with it. Injuries to the chest wall are also distinct from but may be associated with lung injuries. Chest wall injuries include rib fractures and flail chest, in which multiple ribs are broken so that a segment of the ribcage is detached from the rest of the chest wall and moves independently.

The symptoms of a cholinergic toxidrome include bronchorrhea, confusion, defecation, diaphoresis, diarrhea, emesis, lacrimation, miosis, muscle fasciculations, salivation, seizures, urination, and weakness. Complications include bradycardia, hypothermia, and tachypnea. Substances that may cause this toxidrome include carbamates, mushrooms, and organophosphates.

Common mnemonics for organophosphate poisoning include the "killer B's" of bradycardia, bronchorrhea and bronchospasm because they are the leading cause of death, and SLUDGE - Salivation, Lacrimation, Urination, Diarrhea, Gastrointestinal distress, and Emesis.

An alternative mnemonic is DUMBBELLSS - Diarrhea, Urination, Miosis, Bradycardia, Bronchospasm, Emesis, Lacrimation, Lethargy, Salivation and Seizures.

The symptoms of a sympathomimetic toxidrome include anxiety, delusions, diaphoresis, hyperreflexia, mydriasis, paranoia, piloerection, and seizures. Complications include hypertension, and tachycardia. Substances that may cause this toxidrome include salbutamol, amphetamines, cocaine, ephedrine (Ma Huang), methamphetamine, phenylpropanolamine (PPA's), and pseudoephedrine. It may appear very similar to the anticholinergic toxidrome, but is distinguished by hyperactive bowel sounds and sweating.