Editorial
Management of persistent dry cough
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Cough is probably the commonest symptom affecting humans, with prevalence rates variously reported within the range 5-40%.1 Acute or short lived cough, which most commonly occurs in association with viral upper respiratory infection, is of little consequence, usually resolving in a matter of days. Persistent cough, however, may be associated with considerable morbidity including sleep loss, exhaustion, irritability, urinary stress incontinence, cough syncope, impaired performance in daily activities, and considerable social disability. Rib fractures, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and subcutaneous emphysema have been reported in severe cases.2 Persistent productive cough is usually due to cigarette smoking, chronic bronchitis or bronchiectasis, and diagnosis is usually straightforward. Persistent dry cough poses a greater diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.
When clinical evaluation and basic investigations such as spirometry
and chest radiography are normal, the cause of persistent dry cough may
be elusive and such patients pose considerable difficulty in the
clinic. Thorough systematic investigation is both
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