Current aspects of differential diagnosis and treatment of cough

Abstract

Cough is a common and important respiratory symptom that can cause significant complications for patients and be a diagnostic challenge for physicians. An organized approach to the evaluation of cough begins with classifying it as acute, subacute, or chronic based on duration and time of onset. Acute cough (up to 3 weeks) is most often one of the main symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections and acute bronchitis. Subacute cough, lasting from 3 to 8 weeks, is usually postinfectious postviral in origin. Common causes of chronic cough lasting more than 8 weeks with a normal chest X-ray are cough variant of bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, upper airway cough syndrome / postnasal drip syndrome, non-asthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis, gastroesophageal reflux, and medications (primarily angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors). The spectrum of possible causes of cough is diverse, however, respiratory pathology comes to the forefront in the differential diagnostic search. Successful treatment of cough is an important task in clinical practice. Given the possible multicomponent nature of cough, the presence of catarrhal-respiratory and broncho-obstructive syndromes in the clinical picture along with bronchitis syndrome, combination drugs become the drug of choice. In conclusion, the possibilities of a combined (bromhexine + guaifenesin + salbutamol) expectorant against cough, its effectiveness and safety are considered.