title: Investigations in subjects with cough following upper respiratory tract infection.
abstract: The study aimed to investigate subjects with cough following acute upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), and to compare those subjects unable to suppress cough ("non-suppressors") with those who were able to suppress cough ("suppressors"). Forty-three URTI subjects participated, 31 with cough associated with acute URTI and 12 healthy controls; 21 of the coughing subjects were "suppressors", 10 were "non-suppressors". We obtained responses to chemical and mechanical stimulation of the nasal cavity or the pharynx using both psychophysical measures and event-related potentials. The study provided the following results: (1) "non-suppressors" did not exhibit significantly different intensity ratings or event-related potentials in comparison to "suppressors" in terms of responses to intranasal irritant, mechanical, or olfactory stimuli; (2) when pharyngeal mechanical stimuli were investigated "suppressors" rated the stimuli as more intense than "non-suppressors" and controls; (3) latencies of event-related potentials to pharyngeal stimuli were longest in "non-suppressors". Keeping in mind the relatively small sample size, it appears possible to differentiate certain types of cough during uncomplicated URTI. This may help to explain interindividual differences in responsiveness to cough medication.
authors.affiliation: Smell & Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Dresden Medical School, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany. thummel@rcs.urz.tu-dresden.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hummel
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haenel
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pauli
authors.forename: Will
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zahnert
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hull
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000996:Antitussive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002648:Child; D003371:Cough / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000502:physiology*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011601:Psychophysics; D012016:Reference Values; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000150:complications*; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical
chemical_list: D000996:Antitussive Agents