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Childhood habit cough treated with self-hypnosis.

OBJECTIVES: To better understand factors associated with the development and persistence of habit cough and to report use of self-hypnosis for this condition. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective chart review was performed for 56 children and adolescents with habit cough. Interested patients were instructed in self-hypnosis for relaxation and to help ignore the cough-triggering sensation. RESULTS: The patients' mean age was 10.7 years. The cough was triggered by upper respiratory infections in 59%, asthma in 13%, exercise in 5%, and eating in 4%. Onset of the cough occurred as early as 2 years, and its average duration was 13 months (range, 2 weeks to 7 years). There was a high incidence of abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome in the 50% of the patients who missed more than 1 week of school because of their cough. Among the 51 patients who used hypnosis, the cough resolved during or immediately after the initial hypnosis instruction session in 78% and within 1 month in an additional 12%. CONCLUSIONS: Habit cough is triggered by various physiologic conditions, related frequently to other diagnoses, and it is associated with significant school absence. Self-hypnosis offers a safe efficient treatment.

Abdominal Pain↗

Mechanisms of chronic cough.

Chronic and uncontrollable cough is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms found in patients with chronic airway diseases. The physical trauma and stresses of chronic cough on the airway mucosa and respiratory muscles can further worsen the deteriorating process of the airway diseases. The articles presented in this section focus primarily on the effect of chronic cough on the cell structure and protective function of the airway mucosa, the mechanisms underlying the hypersensitivity of chronic cough, and new target areas for antitussive drug development. A major emphasis has been placed on the neuronal plasticity found at the peripheral and central sites of the neural pathway mediating the cough reflex, and its potential role in the development of chronic cough is discussed. A number of new and important questions concerning the physiological and pharmacological mechanisms underlying chronic cough have emerged in these presentations. Further studies are required to answer these questions, which should bring a better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of chronic cough and lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Antitussive Agents↗

Mechanisms of acute cough.

The physiology of cough has become one of the primary focuses of recent research into the cough reflex. Peripherally, interest in differentiating subtypes of airway afferent fibres to determine their contributions to the cough reflex has led to the discovery of an RAR-fibre subtype that responds exclusively to tussive stimuli in the anaesthetized guinea pig and has been hypothesized to initiate the normal defensive cough reflex. Further investigations have begun to more fully differentiate these and other afferent fibre types pharmacologically. Centrally, investigations into the involvement of respiratory networks and gating mechanisms in the cough reflex have contributed to our understanding of the control of cough. Pathological changes in the cough reflex resulting from disease are also beginning to be elucidated. Further research in this area should lead to a more complete understanding of cough and a more rational approach to its treatment.

Acute Disease↗

Inhalation method determines outcome of capsaicin inhalation in patients with chronic cough due to sensory hyperreactivity.

BACKGROUND: For patients with idiopathic chronic cough, a subgroup is recognised with respiratory symptoms induced by scents and chemicals. The diagnosis of sensory hyperreactivity (SHR) has been suggested for this group of patients and can be made using a capsaicin inhalation test. The aim of the present study was to compare the results of inhaling capsaicin by tidal breathing with those obtained by the dosimeter method regarding repeatability, agreement, and ability to distinguish patients with SHR from healthy controls. METHODS: A total of 15 patients with chronic cough due to SHR and 15 healthy control subjects underwent a randomised cross-over protocol and were provoked in a double-blind, randomised fashion with vehicle and two concentrations of inhaled capsaicin, using either the tidal breathing or dosimeter method, in a total of four challenges opportunities, two with each method. RESULTS: Patients coughed more and showed more respiratory symptoms than healthy controls with each dose of capsaicin. Compared with tidal breathing, inhalation of capsaicin with the dosimeter method caused a significantly greater number of coughs and respiratory symptoms in both patients and controls. Among the patients, the mean number of coughs after inhalation of 1 mL of capsaicin 0.4 micromol/L from the first provocation with tidal breathing was 12 (95% CI: 7; 17) and after inhalation from the first provocation with the dosimeter method 32 (95% CI: 19; 46) (P < 0.05). Both methods showed good repeatability and similar ability to distinguish patients with SHR from healthy control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with SHR, capsaicin cough sensitivity is increased and repeatable. The dosimeter method caused more coughs and other respiratory symptoms than the tidal breathing method, indicating that the methods cannot be used interchangeably. Knowledge of the type of inhalation device used, the particle size, the airflow rate and the inspiratory flow rate are essential when comparing different studies of capsaicin-induced cough.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Changes in cough reflex sensitivity after cessation and resumption of cigarette smoking.

Previous studies have shown that healthy cigarette smokers have diminished cough reflex sensitivity compared to healthy nonsmokers. We have recently demonstrated that cough reflex sensitivity is enhanced soon after smoking cessation, suggesting that diminished cough sensitivity in smokers results from chronic cigarette smoke-induced desensitization of airway cough receptors. In this study, we evaluated cough reflex sensitivity to capsaicin (C(5)) in 11 chronic smokers who had discontinued smoking for at least 2 weeks, and then resumed smoking. Two weeks after smoking cessation there was a significant enhancement of cough reflex sensitivity; mean (+/-SEM) log C(5) decreased from 1.77+/-0.18 to 1.47+/-0.14 (p=0.01). All subjects resumed smoking after 2-12 weeks of abstinence. Repeat capsaicin cough challenge was performed 14-23 days after resumption of smoking. Mean log C(5) increased compared to the last value obtained during the smoking cessation period: 1.42+/-0.15 vs. 1.77+/-0.16 (p=0.0004). Mean log C(5) after resumption of smoking returned to almost exactly the baseline value. Our findings suggest that the sensitivity of airway cough receptors is a dynamic phenomenon, promptly affected and modulated by changes in environmental conditions, such as the presence or absence of cigarette smoke.

Administration, Cutaneous↗

Cough throughout life: children, adults and the senile.

We review cough from premature birth, mature neonatal life, in childhood and adult life, and in old age. There is a regrettable lack of definitive studies, but many clues in the literature. The cough reflex seems weak in premature infants, but develops with maturity. It is pronounced in childhood, but there seem to be no studies comparing its strength then with that in adulthood. In old age the cough may weaken, as indicated by the prevalence of aspiration pneumonia. These changes are presumably related to the development and degeneration of the afferent and central nervous pathways for cough, which may be reflected in the changes in laryngeal muscle function with age. There is much evidence that age influences the development of the respiratory system in general, and of the immune system which would affect the degree, frequency and clinical issues of cough. Other factors that limit our understanding of the changes in cough with age include the reporting of cough by parents in infants and carers in old age and the use of different diagnostic criteria throughout life. Age-related variation in cough sensitivity seems to be well established, but its quantitation and mechanisms require much further research.

Adolescent↗

Physiological and pathophysiological down-regulation of cough.

Recent clinical studies have emphasized the up-regulation (sensitization) of cough in pathological conditions of the airways. However there are also many situations where voluntary and reflex cough can be down-regulated. These include: (1) chemical stimulation of breathing by hypercapnia or hypoxia or both, establishing that cough sensitivity can be inversely related to drive to breathing; (2) voluntary inhibition of cough, probably similar in mechanism to the depression of cough that can be induced by hypnosis and other branches of alternative medicine; (3) the placebo effect of many antitussive treatments; (4) sleep; (5) general anaesthesia; (6) central nervous disorders such as coma, stroke, Parkinson's disease and several other conditions where the defect in the protective reflexes may lead to aspiration pneumonia; (7) increased activity in various afferent inputs from viscera in the thorax and abdomen; (8) a number of bronchopulmonary clinical disorders. The list is long, but regrettably the nervous mechanisms of these down-regulations have been little studied. In addition there are a number of situations, such as exercise, coitus, talking and singing which, while important to coughing humans, have been not investigated in relation to cough. Most of the studies have been with experimental animals, and their extension to human research is desirable. In view of the importance of cough and other defensive reflexes in maintaining human well-being, far more research is needed. The field is wide-open.

Bronchopneumonia↗

The localizing and lateralizing value of ictal/postictal coughing in patients with focal epilepsies.

Postictal coughing has so far been reported to indicate a temporal origin of focal epilepsy. A trend towards non-dominant hemisphere lateralization and mesial temporal localization has been suggested. However, postictal coughing has also been reported in a few patients with extratemporal epilepsies. We have retrospectively evaluated the localizing and lateralizing value of ictal/postictal coughing in 197 patients with temporal and extratemporal epilepsy who received presurgical video-EEG long-term recordings from 1999 to 2001. There was no statistical significant difference in percentage of coughing patients in both groups. However, only patients belonging to the temporal group presented with coughing as a regular element of seizure semiology (simple partial and complex partial seizures) whereas in the extratemporal group coughing occurred more sporadically. Within the temporal group a statistically significant tendency to left-sided seizure onset and a statistically not significant preponderance of mesial seizure onset was observed. Additional vegetative signs were observed only in about half of the patients. These results suggest that coughing occurs in both temporal and extratemporal lobe epilepsy and may only be indicative of temporal lobe seizure onset if representing a regular semiologic element. Coughing may be due to two different mechanisms, one dependent and the other independent from additional vegetative symptoms.

Brain↗

The effect of huffing and directed coughing on energy expenditure in young asymptomatic subjects.

Coughing and huffing have been shown to be effective airway clearance techniques and some authors have anecdotally reported that a huff requires less energy than a series of coughs commencing and finishing at the same lung volume. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the energy expenditure between periods of huffing and directed voluntary coughing commencing from the same initial lung volume in young asymptomatic subjects. Energy expenditure was measured using open-circuit indirect calorimetry equipment. Twenty-four non-smoking asymptomatic subjects (12 male, 12 female, aged 18-24 years), without any form of disease and within 10% of their predicted pulmonary function, completed the study. Energy expenditure was measured over three 10min, randomly ordered sessions of huffing, directed coughing and rest. The forced expiratory sessions comprised a single huff or double-barrel cough (both starting at total lung capacity) at the end of every two minutes. Each session was separated by a 5min washout period. No significant difference in energy expenditure was found between the huffing and directed coughing periods (mean difference 0.003 mL/kg/min (95% CI -0.160 to 0.114) and both produced significantly greater energy expenditure than rest (rest and huff mean difference 0.309 mL/kg/min (95% CI 0.080 to 0.549) and rest and cough mean difference 0.306 mL/kg/min (95% CI 0.074 to 0.508)). The suggested benefits of huffing versus coughing in terms of energy conservation are yet to be shown.

Adolescent↗

Efficacy of cough suppressants in children.

To test the hypothesis that codeine and dextromethorphan are effective in alleviating the symptoms of acute cough, we conducted a randomized, controlled trial. Eligible patients were children 18 months to 12 years of age, seen in private pediatric practices, with significant night cough of less than 14 days' duration. Study patients were randomly selected to receive codeine, dextromethorphan, or placebo at bedtime for 3 consecutive nights. Outcomes were assessed by the use of a parent questionnaire rating the severity of symptoms at the initiation of therapy, and after each night of the study. Every patient had a cough score (range 0 to 4) and composite symptom score (range 0 to 9) computed for each day of the study. One hundred forty-one doses of study medication were evaluated in 49 patients, including 13 children receiving placebo, 19 dextromethorphan, and 17 codeine. Mean cough and composite symptom scores decreased in each of the three treatment groups on each day of the study; there were no significant differences. Regression analysis, with reduction in cough score as the outcome of interest, showed that neither dextromethorphan nor codeine was significantly more effective than placebo (p = 0.41 and 0.70, respectively). Reduction in cough score was positively correlated with the severity of cough at the start of treatment (p = 0.007). Our data suggest that, in the doses used, neither codeine nor dextromethorphan is superior to placebo in treating night cough in children.

Child↗

Thromboxane antagonism and cough induced by angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor.

BACKGROUND: The increased prostaglandin synthesis that might follow stimulation of the arachidonic acid cascade by angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibition (ACE-I) has been suggested to underlie the appearance of cough on ACE-I treatment. We investigated whether the prostanoid thromboxane was involved. METHODS: Nine patients with essential hypertension who had cough after enalapril 20 mg once a day (coughers) were treated, while continuing the enalapril, in a double-blind crossover study with placebo or picotamide, 600 mg twice daily. Picotamide is a platelet antiaggregant that acts through both inhibition of thromboxane synthase and thromboxane-receptor antagonism. Thirteen hypertensive patients with no history of ACE-I-induced cough were also treated with enalapril and served as controls. Cough frequency was measured by a visual analogue scale and by a daily cough diary. 24 h urinary recovery of 11-dehydro-thromboxane-B2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha were measured to assess any changes in endoperoxide metabolism during the study periods. FINDINGS: 11-dehydro-thromboxane-B2 (TXB2) recovery was significantly reduced by picotamide, which led to the disappearance of cough in eight patients within 72 h. Picotamide urinary recovery data suggested incomplete absorption in the non-responder. At baseline and after rechallenge with enalapril, 11-dehydro-TXB2 excretion was in the same range in the controls and in the coughers, but the latter showed significantly lower excretion of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, and their ratio of 11-dehydroTXB2 to 6-keto-PGF1 alpha was twice that of the controls (1.40 [95% CI 0.86-1.95] vs 0.61 [0.37-0.84]). INTERPRETATION: A thromboxane antagonist is effective in ACE-I-induced cough. An imbalance between thromboxane and prostacyclin may represent a marker of patients susceptible to ACE-I-induced cough.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗

Effect of experimental lung oedema on cough sound creation.

We have assessed the importance of changes in lung structure on the pattern of cough sound and its creation with 13 anaesthetized cats. Acute lung injury with oedema was induced by i.v. administration of a mixture of fatty acids. Cough was elicited by mechanical stimulation of the mucous membranes of the airways and was evaluated by its intensities of effort and sound before and up to 2 h after administration of the fatty acids. Changes of cough sound pattern were not definitive, there being no typical alterations. The cough effort and sound intensities, induced from the trachea, consistently decreased (by 70-80% in both cases). The cough efforts immediately after induction of oedema were transiently abolished in some cats. The cough values induced from the larynx similarly decreased at 5 min (51-57%) but subsequently gradually returned to control values. There were significant correlations, both for coughs induced from the trachea and from the larynx, and for changes in intensity of efforts compared with sounds. Thus, pathological changes in the lungs modify the intensities both of cough efforts and their associated sounds.

Animals↗

Evaluation and impact of chronic cough: comparison of specific vs generic quality-of-life questionnaires.

BACKGROUND: Chronic cough is a common condition that has a significant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether chronic cough is associated with adverse psychological and physical effects on quality of life (QoL) using different HRQoL questionnaires. METHODS: Forty patients were recruited for the study. The diagnostic workup was mainly based on the pathogenic triad in chronic cough: postnasal drip syndrome, asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. The HRQoL was evaluated with the cough-specific quality-of-life questionnaire (CQLQ), Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. RESULTS: Symptom scores were significantly correlated with the CQLQ and LCQ (beta = .415 and beta = -.272, respectively) but not with the SF-36. A statistically significant difference was found in all questionnaires, except the physical component summary domain of the SF-36, after specific therapy. Correlation between the 2 specific HRQoL questionnaires was moderate to high when pretreatment and posttreatment scores were compared (r = -0.42 and r = -0.60). Concurrent validity of the LCQ was higher than the CQLQ when compared with the SF-36 domains. The effect size of each specific QoL questionnaire was 1 or higher after treatment, whereas it was much less in the SF-36. There was no change in depression with treatment despite anxiety. Posttreatment symptom scores were related with anxiety (r > 0.40) CONCLUSIONS: Because HRQoL is important to patients, a cough-specific HRQoL instrument, either the CQLQ or LCQ, should be routinely used to optimally evaluate the impact of cough on patients and to evaluate the efficacy of cough-modifying agents.

Adolescent↗

Effectiveness of montelukast in the treatment of cough variant asthma.

BACKGROUND: Antileukotriene agents have been shown to be beneficial in chronic asthma. Although patients with cough variant asthma have cough with minimal wheezing and dyspnea, airway hyperresponsiveness from chronic inflammation is believed to be the underlying mechanism. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of montelukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, in the treatment of cough variant asthma. METHODS: Fourteen patients with cough variant asthma participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with a 7- to 10-day baseline period and a 4-week treatment period with montelukast, 10 mg, or placebo daily. Inclusion criteria were (1) chronic cough with a duration of at least 4 weeks with minimal or no wheezing or dyspnea and (2) forced expiratory volume in 1 second of 50% to 85% of predicted and reversibility of 12% with use of an inhaled beta-agonist or forced expiratory volume in 1 second greater than 85% and positive methacholine challenge results. Patients fulfilled the minimum criteria for cough frequency and symptom scores for randomization. RESULTS: Eight patients received montelukast and 6 received placebo. The primary efficacy variable, mean percentage change from baseline in cough frequency, was significantly improved by the second week, and by the fourth week the mean percentage change from baseline was 75.7% for the treatment group and 20.7% for the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: The leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast seems to be effective in the treatment of cough variant asthma. Larger studies are recommended to confirm this effect.

Acetates↗

[Usefulness of the Guidelines of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) in identifying the causes of chronic cough].

OBJECTIVE: The usefulness of the recently published guidelines of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) on the diagnosis and treatment of chronic cough has not yet been demonstrated. The objectives of the present study were a) to evaluate the usefulness of the SEPAR guidelines for identifying the possible causes of chronic cough, and b) to determine the most frequent causes of chronic cough treated by primary care physicians. METHODS: We carried out a prospective descriptive study that included 57 consecutive patients (mean age, 62 years) seeking medical attention for chronic cough in a primary health care area. The patients were evaluated using the algorithm proposed in the SEPAR guidelines, whereby the diagnostic procedure is divided into 3 phases in function of complexity. Phase I was carried out at the primary care level, and phases II and III at a hospital pneumology department. RESULTS: For 56 patients (98%), the potential cause of cough was identified: for 52 (91%) in phase I; for 3 (5%), in phase II; and for 1 (2%), in phase III. In 30 patients (53%), a single cause was identified; in 20 (36%), 2 causes; and in 6 (11%), more than 2 causes. Considered individually, the most common causes were postnasal drip in 26 cases (46%), the use of cough-inducing drugs (10 of them attributable to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) in 16 (28%), asthma in 15 (27%), infection in 13 (23%), gastroesophageal reflux in 12 (21%), and others in 9 (16%). CONCLUSIONS: The application of the SEPAR guidelines on chronic cough is useful for the identification of its causes. The use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors is a frequent cause of coughs diagnosed at the level of primary outpatient health care.

Adolescent↗

Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in adults with chronic cough compared with healthy blood donors.

In a small uncontrolled study, persistent cough has recently been found to be associated with serological evidence of acute Chlamydia pneumoniae infection. In order to assess whether C. pneumoniae plays a role in chronic cough, the prevalence of C. pneumoniae infection in 201 adult patients with chronic cough was compared with the prevalence in 106 healthy blood donors without respiratory tract symptoms in the preceding 3 months. A microimmunofluorescence antibody test was used to determine C. pneumoniae antibodies in the immunoglobulin (Ig)M, IgG and IgA fractions. Further, nasopharyngeal aspirates from the 201 patients were examined for C. pneumoniae deoxyribonucleic acid by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). As judged by serology, nine patients (4%) and one control (1%) had acute C. pneumoniae infection, and 92 patients (46%) and 42 controls (40%) had previous or chronic C. pneumoniae infection. Of the nine patients with acute infection, three were C. pneumoniae PCR positive, and they all had an IgM antibody titre response. The remaining six patients had either an IgG antibody titre of > or =512 (five patients) or an IgA antibody titre of > or =512 (one patient). None of these six patients had detectable IgM antibodies. The mean cough period for the five IgG positive patients (10.8 weeks) was significantly longer than the mean cough period for the remaining patient population (6.4 weeks; p=0.004). It is concluded that Chlamydia pneumoniae infection was not statistically significantly more prevalent in patients with chronic cough than in healthy blood donors, and that Chlamydia pneumoniae appears to have a minor role in patients with chronic cough. Direct detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae by polymerase chain reaction on nasopharyngeal aspirates is highly correlated with detectable immunoglobulin M antibodies, but in the late stages of prolonged cough serological testing of immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin A may be more beneficial for obtaining a microbiological diagnosis.

Adult↗

Bradykinin-evoked sensitization of airway sensory nerves: a mechanism for ACE-inhibitor cough.

Cough accompanied by an increased sensitivity of the cough reflex is the most common symptom of inflammatory airway disease. This symptom is also frequently reported in patients receiving angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors as therapy for heart failure or hypertension, although the underlying mechanism is unknown. We have investigated the possibility that the inflammatory peptide bradykinin, normally degraded by ACE, causes sensitization of airway sensory nerves and an enhancement of the cough reflex in conscious guinea pigs. Treatment of guinea pigs for two weeks with captopril led to an increased cough response to inhaled citric acid, which was prevented by concomitant treatment with the bradykinin receptor antagonist icatibant. A similar icatibant-sensitive enhancement of citric acid-evoked cough was seen in untreated animals after prior inhalation of bradykinin, although cough evoked by hypertonic saline was unaffected. In electrophysiological studies performed in vitro, responses of single vagal C fibers to capsaicin, applied to receptive fields of single-fiber units in the trachea, were also markedly increased after perfusion with bradykinin, whereas A delta fiber responses to hypertonic saline were unaffected. These results indicate that bradykinin-evoked sensitization of airway sensory nerves may underlie the pathogenesis of ACE-inhibitor cough. Bradykinin receptor antagonists may be of benefit in treating chronic cough seen with this and other inflammatory conditions.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗

Effect of changes in inspiratory flow rate on cough responses to inhaled capsaicin.

1. Twelve non-smoking subjects inhaled capsaicin at three different inspiratory flow rates: 50, 100 and 150 litres/min. Capsaicin was delivered by a breath-actuated dosimeter; inhalations consisted of 0.21-13.6 nmol of capsaicin in doubling amounts given in random order. 2. The mean number of coughs per challenge decreased with increasing inspiratory flow rate. The difference in cough numbers were significant: 7.7 (95% confidence interval 2.5-12.8) for 50 versus 100 litres/min and 10.9 (95% confidence interval 5.0-16.9) for 100 versus 150 litres/min. 3. On a separate day, a cough threshold was measured by giving increasing doses of citric acid that were inhaled at 50 litres/min. There was a positive correlation between the sensitivity to capsaicin and the cough threshold to citric acid (r = 0.69, P = 0.01), and also between the cough latencies (r = 0.67, P = 0.02). 4. The negative relationship between the cough response and the inspiratory flow rate may be caused by increased laryngeal deposition at lower inspiratory flow rates. 5. These results are compatible with a similar anatomical distribution of cough receptors for capsaicin and citric acid. 6. These results suggest that changes in inspiratory flow rate may affect the results of cough challenges.

Adult↗