PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIAGNOSIS OF PROLONGED/CHRONIC COUGH IN CLINICAL SETTINGS

Arerugī = [Allergy]
Yusuke KakiuchiYusuke Shikama

Abstract

Many patients visit primary care clinics or local hospitals with a complaint of prolonged/chronic cough. Among the different types of chronic cough, cough variant asthma (CVA) and postinfectious cough may be the most common types, and their differential diagnosis is difficult. Some physicians tend to prescribe inhaled corticosteroids before establishing a definitive diagnosis. We retrospectively investigated useful findings for diagnosis in 77 patients with a complaint of prolonged/ chronic cough to detect meaningful findings for differential diagnosis and to identify problems associated with diagnosis in clinical practice. CVA was diagnosed in 39 patients, and postinfectious cough was diagnosed in 19. Compared with postinfectious cough, CVA was associated with significant characteristics such as "diurnal variation of symptoms," "response to inhalation of short acting β2 agonist (SABA)," and "recurrent episodes of symptoms." CVA was associated with high FeNO levels as well, and high FeNO levels were specific to CVA. However, these useful characteristics were not significant in the patients who had been prescribed ICS before visiting our hospital. Medical examination and determination of FeNO levels are useful for the differenti...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Asthma

This feed focuses in Asthma in which your airways narrow and swell. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

Allergy and Asthma

Allergy and asthma are inflammatory disorders that are triggered by the activation of an allergen-specific regulatory t cell. These t cells become activated when allergens are recognized by allergen-presenting cells. Here is the latest research on allergy and asthma.