Psychogenic cough: a profile of 32 cases.
OBJECTIVE
Psychogenic or nervous cough has generally been viewed as a clinical oddity and largely ignored. Though it is not rare, its clinical profile is not yet well known.


METHODS
In the present study, a series of 32 cases of psychogenic cough is reported.


RESULTS
Of 32 cases, there were 19 females (59.4 percent) and 13 males (40.6 percent). A majority of patients had cough for more than one month. School phobia (in children) and fear of rejection and need for attention were the most common precipitating or perpetuating factors. Twenty patients (62.5 percent) had a psychiatric disorder, the most common being conversion disorder (21.9 percent) followed by mixed anxiety and depressive disorder (12.5 percent). Drug therapy and/or psychotherapy were used as treatment with 12 cases (37.5 percent) showing remission, 16 cases (50.0 percent) having improvement, and 4 cases (12.5 percent) continuing with the complaint.


CONCLUSIONS
Further studies are warranted to study the treatment and outcome of this important psychiatric disorder.
Bhatia
Manjeet S
MS
University College of Medical Sciences, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, India. dbmi@ucms.ernet.in
Chandra
Ramesh
R
Vaid
Laxmi
L
D000328:Adult; D003371:Cough / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*