Changing etiological frequency of chronic cough in a tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China.

Abstract

The frequency distributions of the etiologies of chronic cough have changed over time. This study aimed to investigate the changing etiological frequency of chronic cough in a tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China, and to explore the clinical significance. Medical records of 1,311 patients with chronic cough who visit our hospital between January 2009 and December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. The etiologies of chronic cough were identified according to a standardized step-by-step diagnostic protocol and the changes in the etiological frequency of chronic cough over the years were using the Chi-squared (χ2) test. Cough variant asthma (CVA) (449/1,311, 34.2%), gastroesophageal reflux-related chronic cough (GERC) (374/1,311, 28.5%), upper airway cough syndrome/postnasal drip syndrome (UACS/PNDs) (241/1,311, 18.4%), atopic cough (AC) (188/1,311, 14.3%), and non-asthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis (NAEB) (147/1,311, 11.2%) were the common causes of chronic cough in descending order. The post-infectious cough (PIC) (39/1,311, 3.0%) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)-induced cough (25/1,311, 1.9%) were less common. During the 8-year period, the proportion of CVA (χ2=72.86, P<0.0001) and UACS/PNDs (χ2=68.80, P<0.0001) decreased, while those of NAEB (χ2=51.38, P<0.0001), GERC (χ2=55.95, P<0.0001) and AC (χ2=39.09, P<0.0001) increased. The etiological frequency of chronic cough varies over time, and it may encourage the adjustment of the current diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for chronic cough.