A prospective study On etiology of chronic cough / 中国医师进修杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the characteristic of etiology of chronic cough in Shenzhen.Methods The chronic cough etiology was analyzed in 136 cases with the guidance of cough diagnosis and treatment guidelines(2009 editions)published by Chinese Medical Association.The cough was the main or sole symptom,the duration was no less than 8 weeks and chest X-ray film was normal.Results The causes of chronic cough was confirmed in 125 patients and was not definitely diagnosed in 11 patients by inspection and treatment.Cough due to single cause was found in 104 patients(83.20%,104/125),due to compound causes was found in 21 patients(16.80%,21/125).The first 4 etiologies were cough variant asthma(CVA)with 57 patients(36.31%,57/157),upper airway cough syndrome(UACS)with 41 patients(26.11%,41/157),eosinophilic bronchitis(EB)with 17 patients(10.83%,17/157),occupational injury(including harmful,toxic substances inhalation,etc.)with 10 patients(6.37%,10/157).Conclusions The most common cause of chronic cough in Shenzhen is CVA,UACS,EB.Due to the developed industrialization,there is a lack of understanding the cough course of inhaling more harmful and toxic gases and substances in the manufacturing process.So this should be paid more attention.