The diagnosis and management of chronic cough

Abstract

There are three common causes of chronic cough that arise from three different anatomical areas. This varied presentation explains the major reason for the success of multidisciplinary cough clinics compared with general clinics 16. As asthma, reflux and rhinitis are the realms of different specialists who have little experience in the diagnosis of conditions outside their expertise, a patient with chronic cough may not undergo full evaluation. This problem is exacerbated by the frequently atypical presentation of patients with cough. Thus, patients with cough-predominant asthma may not exhibit bronchoconstriction, and patients with reflux-associated cough may have no associated reflux symptoms such as heartburn.