Overview of common causes of chronic cough: ACCP evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.
OBJECTIVE
To review the literature on the most common causes of chronic cough.


METHODS
MEDLINE was searched (through May 2004) for studies published in the English language since 1980 on human subjects using the medical subject heading terms "cough," "causes of cough," and "etiology of cough." Case series and prospective descriptive clinical trials were selected for review. Also obtained were any references from these studies that were pertinent to the topic


RESULTS
Upper airway cough syndrome (UACS) due to a variety of rhinosinus conditions, previously referred to as postnasal drip syndrome, asthma, nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis (NAEB), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are the most common causes of chronic cough. Each of these diagnoses may be present alone or in combination and may be clinically silent apart from the cough itself.


CONCLUSIONS
In the absence of evidence for the presence of another disorder, an approach focused on detecting the presence of UACS, asthma, NAEB, or GERD, alone or in combination, is likely to have a far higher yield than routinely searching for relatively uncommon or obscure diagnoses.
Pratter
Melvin R
MR
D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications*; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000150:complications*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003371:Cough / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects