I read with interest the study by Dohertyet al 1 in which cough reflex sensitivity in asthmatic subjects and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was examined. The authors found that subjects with asthma were more sensitive to the tussive agent capsaicin than were normal subjects and, furthermore, that capsaicin sensitivity was related to the subjective assessment of symptomatic cough. They concluded that an enhanced cough reflex is an important contributor to cough in asthma.

I wish to share my own experience in this field, which has led me to a somewhat different conclusion. In …