An 80-Year-Old Man With Intractable Cough

Abstract

An 80-year-old man with no history of substance addiction presented with complaints of cough and breathlessness for 4months. His cough was nonproductive, waxing and waning in nature with high symptom load during daytime, but not associated with chest pain or wheezing. He gives no history of nasal or sinus symptoms, aspiration, or reflux symptoms. Breathlessness was nonparoxysmal, independent of cough and progressing from modified medical research council Grade-I to Grade II. It was not accompanied by wheezing or stridor. He denied specific triggers and seasonal, diurnal, or postural variation of symptoms. His medical history was largely unremarkable, apart from hypertension diagnosed 2 decades earlier. Despite 6months of treatment with dual antihypertensive medications, his BP remained uncontrolled. He did not receive angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers for the treatment of hypertension as per his old medical records. He denies history of atopy, occupational or environmental dust exposure. He refused history of fever, significant loss of weight or appetite. He had been treated for asthma with a combination of a long-acting beta-2 agonist and an inhaled corticosteroid inhaler, which provided no relief.