A Cross-sectional Survey of the Clinical Manifestations and Underlying Illness of Cough

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting the final diagnosis of cough. Materials and Methods: This study recruited 463 consecutive patients who visited five Japanese general hospitals due to cough from October 2006 to September 2007. Of these, 418 patients (90%) who completed a questionnaire designed to acquire data regarding clinical manifestations of cough were included. Results: Most patients with bronchial asthma had cough with seasonal variation and wheezing. Patients with gastro esophageal reflux disease suffered from heartburn and cough without daily or seasonal variation. Cough associated with sinobronchial syndrome was only observed in females and was linked to increased sputum. Patients with whooping cough were bothered by cough interrupting sleep and talking. Patients with cardiogenic cough had exertional dyspnea. Conclusion: The specific items on our questionnaire relating to patient characteristics, complications, and triggers of cough, represent useful tools for diagnosing the primary disease producing cough.Cough is one of the most common reasons for hospital visits (1) and has a substantial impact on quality of life (for example, sleep disturbances or depression) and the use of healthcare resources (2-4). Cough is categorized according to its duration of symptoms: acute (0-2 weeks), sub-acute (3-7 weeks) and chronic (more than 8 weeks) (5). Previous studies have reported that the causes of acute and sub-acute cough are mostly acute respiratory infection and postinfection cough (1, 6), while the proportion of patients suffering from cough due to non-infectious diseases increases as the duration of cough increases (1). However, the causes of cough may vary in patients living in different geographical regions or among those of different ethnicities (7). While some existing reports focus on patients with chronic cough attending hospitals in Japan (8-11), very few studies have attempted to investigate the causes of cough among patients visiting hospitals with different types of cough (acute, sub-acute and chronic) (1). Moreover, little is known about the specific clinical manifestations of cough. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical manifestations of cough, investigate the causative disorders involved, and identify factors affecting the final diagnosis of cough in an urban Japanese population. Materials and MethodsClinical institutions and participants. This was a cross-sectional survey performed between

The Predicative Clinical Features Associated with Chronic Cough That Has a Single Underlying Cause

“…Mello et al 17 reported that the characteristics, timing, and complications of chronic cough were unlikely to be useful in diagnosing chronic cough. In contrast, Otoshi et al 19 found that cough with seasonal variation was useful for diagnosing asthma and cough without daily or seasonal variation indicated gastroesophageal reflux disease. Everett and Morice 34 showed that a symptom complex that is characteristic of reflux cough can be identified.…”

“…Studies on whether the clinical characteristics of cough could be useful for the diagnosis of chronic cough are limited. 17 , 18 , 19 Hence, we aimed to analyze different cough characteristics, concomitant symptoms, and medical history in diagnosing the causes of chronic cough with a single underlying cause.…”

A novel automatic cough frequency monitoring system combining a triaxial accelerometer and a stretchable strain sensor

“…Cough is categorized according to the duration of symptoms: acute cough (0–2 weeks), subacute cough (3–7 weeks) and chronic cough (more than 8 weeks) 2 . In a previous study, we revealed that each type of cough occurred in 19%, 38% and 43% of all the patients who visited our hospitals for cough (n = 207) 3 . Cough greatly impacts our daily lives.…”

A Novel Automatic Cough Frequency Monitoring System Combining a Triaxial Accelerometer and a Stretchable Strain Sensor

“…Cough is categorized according to the duration of symptoms: acute cough (0-2 weeks), subacute cough (3-7 weeks) and chronic cough (more than 8 weeks) [2]. In a previous study, we revealed that each type of cough occurred in 19%, 38% and 43% of all the patients who visited our hospitals for cough (n=207) [3]. Cough greatly impacts our daily lives.…”