Objective To investigate the causes of chronic cough in Chongqing City and assess the efficacy of specific therapy. Methods A total of 233 consecutively non-selected referred patients ( 136 females) whose cough duration more than eight weeks were studied. Their age[ median ( range) ] was 44. 5( 15-78) yrs and cough duration was 2. 6 ( 0. 2-30) yrs. They were diagnosed using a diagnostic protocol based on the Guideline on Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Cough established by China Medical Association and American College of Chest Physicians. The etiological diagnosis was made according to clinical manifestations, lab examinations, and response to specific therapy. The effects was assessed four weeks after the drug withdraw. Results The cause of chronic cough was confirmed in 216 patients ( 92. 7% ) . Seventeen patients( 7. 3% ) had not been definitely diagnosed. Cough due to a single cause was found in 163 patients ( 75. 45% ) , and due to multiple causes in 53 patients ( 24. 53% ) . The causes included upper airway cough syndrome ( UACS) in 127 patients( 44. 4% ) , cough variant asthma ( CVA) in 73 patients( 25. 5% ) , gastro-esophageal reflux cough ( GERC) in 26 patients( 9. 1%) , postinfectious cough and angiotensin converting enzyme ( ACE) inhibitor-induced cough in 6 patients( 2. 1% ) , atopic cough in 5 patients( 1. 7% ) , chronic bronchitis in 3 patients ( 1. 0% ) , respectively. After specific therapy based on diagnosis, cough cured in 59 patients ( 25. 3% ) , and alleviated in 114 patients ( 49. 3% ) , no response in 40 patients( 17. 1% ) . Conclusion The causes of chronic cough in different areas maybe variant. UACS, CVA and GREC are the main causes of chronic cough in Chongqing City. Specific therapy is effective in majority of patients with chronic cough.
临床上通常将以咳嗽为唯一症状或主要症状、时间超过 8周、胸部x检查无明显异常者称为不明原因慢性咳嗽，简称慢性咳嗽 。慢性咳嗽是内科门诊患者最常见的病症，与典型支气管哮喘、肺部感染、肺纤维化和支气管肺癌等疾病不同，由于缺乏典型的相关症状，胸片检查无异常，一些临床医生习惯性地给病人戴上“支气管炎或慢性支气管炎”(简称“慢支”)的帽子，给予止咳祛痰或反复使用多种抗生素治疗，当然临床疗效并不理想。我们进行的流行病学调查结果显示，72％的慢性咳嗽患者被诊断为“支气管炎、慢支或慢性咽喉炎”，而病因诊断显示其中慢性支气管炎仅占4％(该资料尚未发表)。 慢性咳嗽的病因非常复杂，但并非毫无规律可循。只要掌握正确的诊断方法，按照慢性咳嗽病因诊断程序，大部分患者实际上可以获得明确的病因诊断，根据病因进行特异性治疗能够取得良好的治疗效果。在诊断慢性咳嗽时主要应注意以下几个问题。
Objective Using a simple management strategy to investigate the etiologic spectrum of chronic cough in Chengdu city and its suburbs. Methods Chronic cough patients were randomly recruited fromthe outpatient clinic of Sichuan Provincial People ’s Hospital between July 2011 to May 2012. A conception of “Chronic Airway Inflammatory Cough Syndrome, CAICS”was established including several common causes of cough such as cough variant asthma ( CVA) , eosinophilic bronchitis ( EB) , atopic cough ( AC) , and atypical chronic bronchitis. Based on CAICS, a simplified suspected diagnosis procedure of chronic cough was conducted. Patients were empirically treated. Etiology and efficiency of chronic cough was analyzed. Results A total of 148 patients of chronic cough were recruited. The mean age was ( 43. 0 ±13. 0) years old. There were 72 male and 76 female patients with mean ages of ( 39. 7 ±10. 7) and ( 45. 0 ± 14. 2) years old respectively. The males were younger than the females ( P lt; 0. 05) . There was 96. 6% ( 143/148) of patients suspectedly diagnosed and 3.4% ( 5/148) patients were undiagnosed. The suspected causes of these chronic cough patients were as follows, ie. CAICS ( 57. 5% ) , upper airway cough syndrome ( UACS, 21. 5%) , gastroesophageal reflux cough ( GERC, 9. 1% ) , and others ( 8. 4% ) . A single possible cause was found in 95 patients ( 64.1% ) , two possible causes in 41 patients ( 27. 7% ) , and three possible causes in 3 patients( 2. 0% ) . 12.2% of chronic cough patients were combined with allergic rhinitis ( AR) . Among the diseases, CVA, CAICS and UACS were disposed to coexist with AR. The overall efficiency of empiric management strategy of chronic cough was 83. 7% .Conclusions The etiological spectrum of chronic cough in Chengdu acquired by this strategy was generally consistent with previous findings in China.The three most important causes of chronic cough in Chengdu were CAICS, UACS and GERC. This strategy was simple, effective, economic and feasible. It could be a primary management for chronic cough in some hospital.
Objective To explore the effect of lower airway inflammation on the pathogenesis of upper airway cough syndrome( UACS) . Methods Ten cases of UACS and 10 cases of chronic rhinitis or sinusitis without cough were enrolled as group A and group B, respectively. And 10 healthy volunteers were included as controls( group C) . The cough threshold C2 and C5 to inhaled capsaicin, defined as the lowest concentration of capsaicin required to induce ≥2 and ≥5 coughs, was measured. The total and differential cell counts was determined in induced sputum, and the levels of histamine and prostaglandin E2 were analyzed in supernatant of sputum. Results Cough threshold was significantly lower in group A than group B [ C2: ( 0.65 ±0. 08) μmol / L vs ( 3.90 ±1. 37) μmol / L; C5: ( 1.59 ±0. 28) μmol / L vs ( 33.46 ±23. 71) μmol / L, P lt;0. 05] and comparable between group B and group C( P gt; 0. 05) . Group A, similar to group B( P gt; 0. 05 ) , contained more inflammatory cells, with decreased percentage of macrophages and increased percentage of neutrophils in induced sputum than group C( P lt; 0. 05) . Furthermore, the levels of histamine[ ( 9. 55 ±1. 89) ng/mL vs ( 2. 37 ±0. 25) ng/mL, P lt; 0. 05] and prostaglandin E2 [ ( 361. 71 ±39. 38) pg/mL vs ( 144. 34 ±15. 69) pg/mL, P lt; 0. 05] were higher in supernatant of induced sputum from group A than group B, while the latter was not different from group C( P gt; 0. 05) . Conclusion Increased cough sensitivity caused by airway inflammation may be important for the pathogenesis of UACS, and the activation of mast cells in mucosa of lower airway might be an important factor.
In recent years, the number of lung surgeries has increased year by year, and the number of patients with postoperative cough has also increased gradually. Chronic cough after lung surgery seriously affects patients' quality of life and surgical outcome, and has become one of the clinical problems that clinicians need to solve. However, there is currently no guideline or consensus for the treatment of chronic cough after lung surgery in China, and there is no standardized treatment method. Therefore, we searched databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wanfang databases ect. from 2000 to 2023 to collected relevant literatures and research data, and produced the first expert consensus on chronic cough after lung surgery in China by Delphi method. We gave 11 recommendations from five perspectives including timing of chronic cough treatment, risk factors (surgical method, lymph node dissection method, anesthesia method), prevention methods (preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative), and treatment methods (etiological treatment, cough suppressive drug treatment, traditional Chinese medicine treatment, and postoperative physical therapy). We hope that this consensus can improve the standardization and effectiveness of chronic cough treatment after lung surgery, provide reference for clinical doctors, and ultimately improve the quality of life of patients with chronic cough after lung surgery.
ObjectiveTo evaluates the values of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) in the treatment of chronic cough prospectively.MethodsSubjects with chronic cough were recruited from the outpatient clinic of China-Japan Friendship Hospital. All the patients accepted FENO tests, sputum cell counts, pulmonary function tests, bronchial provocation tests, serum IgE, cough symptom scores and Leicester Cough Questionnaire before and after treatment of 4 weeks.ResultsThere were 29 patients with cough variant asthma (CVA), 19 patients with eosinophilic bronchitis (EB) and 39 patients with other causes. The baseline FENO level of the subjects whose coughs were relieved after inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) therapy of 4 weeks was (63±42) ppb, significantly higher than those with bad-response [(28±13) ppb, P<0.01]. The proportion of FENO decrease after ICS therapy was not only significantly related to the proportion of eosinophilic decrease (r=0.54, P<0.01), but also significantly related to the proportion of decrease of cough symptom scores (r=0.48, P<0.01). To distinguish the good responders from bad responders, the optimal baseline FENO cutoff value was 36 ppb, with sensitivity of 82%, specificity of 93%, positive predictive value of 94%, negative predictive value of 87%, accuracy of 83%.ConclusionsThere is a good relationship between the FENO decreasing levels after ICS therapy and the reliefs of cough symptoms in the CVA and EB patients. Chronic cough patients with FENO value more than 36 ppb are indicated to respond to ICS therapy.
Objective To investigate the etiological diagnosis of chronic cough with pharyngitis-like manifestations. Methods Patients with chronic cough and pharyngitis-like manifestations were recruited from Outpatient Department of Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases between December 2002 to March 2010. The causes of chronic cough were investigated using a well-established diagnostic protocol, including history taking and physical examination, pulmonary function tests, induced sputum cytology, 24-h esophageal pH monitoring, etc. The final diagnosis depended on clinical manifestations, examination findings, and a successful response to therapy. Results 326 patients with chronic cough and pharyngitislike manifestations were included in the study with amedian duration of 24 ( 2 ～480) months, amean age of 41 ±13 years. The causes of chronic cough were identified as follows: post nasal drip syndrome or upper airway cough syndrome in 73 cases ( 23. 31% ) , cough variant asthma in 61 cases( 18. 71% ) , eosinophilic bronchitis in 70 cases( 22. 47% ) , gastroesophageal reflux-induced cough in 54 cases ( 16. 56% ) , atopiccough in 48 cases ( 14. 72% ) , and others in 40 cases ( 12. 27% ) . There is no significant difference in percentage of common causes of chronic cough ( P gt; 0. 05) . Conclusion The proportions of upper airway syndrome and other common causes are similar in chronic cough with pharyngitis-like manifestatioins, whichsuggest pharyngitis-like manifestations are not specific for diagnosis of upper airway cough syndrome.