Cough at the doctor’s office

Abstract

Сough is a common symptom that requires medical attention. The range of diseases in which cough occurs is quite large. These are not only patients with bronchopulmonary pathology, cough can also occur in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, diseases of the upper respiratory tract, taking medications and a number of other reasons. Cough has different developmental mechanisms and clinical characteristics. Treatment of cough should be primarily aimed at eliminating the cause of cough, the nosological form that triggered the development of this symptom. However, cough often requires a complex long-term diagnosis and personalized approach to therapy. Symptomatic treatment is often required before the cause of chronic cough is established and for patients with acute and subacute cough. When choosing symptomatic cough therapy, it is necessary to focus on a specific clinical situation and take a differentiated approach to the choice of medications. Combination medications are an effective symptomatic remedy in the treatment of cough, especially in situations where the patient has several symptoms at the same time (cough, viscous, difficult-to-separate sputum, bronchial obstruction). An example of such a combination are drugs that include bromhexine (mucolytic), guaifenesine (mucolytic/mucokinetic) and salbutamol (β2-adrenomimetic). The drugs have a synergistic effect, have an antitussive effect, improve mucociliary clearance, improve the rheological properties of bronchial secretions, reducing excessive bronchial tone, which leads to rapid cleansing of the bronchi from altered bronchial secretions and a decrease / cessation of coughing.