Clinical efficacy of leukotriene receptor antagonists in treatment of chronic cough

Abstract

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of leukotriene receptor antagonists in treatment of chronic cough. Methods Eighty-one patients with chronic cough, defined by the diagnostic protocol of chronic cough, were recruited. The including criteria are complaining cough 8 weeks or longer, age ≥ 14, nonsmoking or had quitted smoking≥4 weeks, not taking ACEI medicine, not complicated with gastroesophageal reflux related cough, upper airway cough syndrome (besides allergic rhinitis), tuberculosis of bronchus and with normal chest X-ray. Those diagnosed as cough variant asthma(CVA),allergic rhinitis (AR),eosinophilic bronchitis(EB),post infectious cough(PIC) were treated with leukotriene 10 mg daily at night. Results The 81 patients includes:36 cases of CVA,30 cases of AR,5 cases with EB,10 cases with PIC. After treatment based on diagnosis, cough disappeared in 67 patients, symptoms improved in 12 patients, and 2 patients' cough did not improved. Conclusions Leukotriene receptor antagonists is an aggressive anti-inflammatory therapy, which can release the symptom of cough and is an important medicine in the treatment of chronic cough. Key words: Chronic cough; Leukotriene receptor antagonists; Cough variant asthma; Leukotriene