COUGH

Course overview

COUGH IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON MEDICAL COMPLAINTS ACCOUNTING FOR AS MANY AS 30 MILLION CLINICAL VISITS PER YEAR. UP TO 40% OF THESE COMPLAINTS RESULT IN A REFERRAL TO A PULMONOLOGIST. A COUGH IS AN INNATE PRIMITIVE REFLEX AND ACTS AS PART OF THE BODY’S IMMUNE SYSTEM TO PROTECT AGAINST FOREIGN MATERIALS. COUGHING IS ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE ASSORTMENT OF CLINICAL ASSOCIATIONS AND ETIOLOGIES. FURTHERMORE, THERE ARE NO OBJECTIVE TOOLS TO MEASURE OR CLINICALLY QUANTIFY A COUGH. AS SUCH, EVALUATION OF A COUGH IS INITIALLY A SUBJECTIVE AND HIGHLY VARIABLE ASSESSMENT. GIVEN THE VAGUENESS OF THIS SYMPTOM’S NATURE, ALONG WITH THE RISK OF AN INSIDIOUS UNDERLYING ETIOLOGY, HEAVY IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE, AND A LACK OF OBJECTIVE TOOLS, COUGHING SHOULD BE EVALUATED AND TREATED AS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE UNTIL A BENIGN SOURCE IS ISOLATED. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE WORKUP OF AN UNEXPLAINED COUGH AND DESCRIBES THE ROLE OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WORKING TOGETHER TO MANAGE THIS CONDITION.