National survey of physiotherapy and speech and language therapists’ practice for patients with refractory chronic cough in England: Treatment

Abstract

Background: Despite nonpharmacological treatments for chronic cough (CC) being effective, little is known about clinical treatment practices of Physiotherapists (PT) and Speech and Language therapists (SLT) who provide these. Aim: This study aimed to explore PT and SLT treatments in England for CC. Methods: 119 NHS Foundation Trusts where treatment for CC was likely to be provided by PT and/or SLT were identified. 638 (318 SLT and 320 PT) surveys were sent to the respective leads for PT and SLT within these trusts. Results: 79 surveys were returned; 3 were excluded as they didn’t see CC. Of the 76 surveys (n=41 SLT, n=35 PT) 86% reported treating patients with CC as a result of an underlying respiratory condition (n=65), refractory CC was treated by 61 responders. All treatments were delivered to all types of CC including techniques such as cough suppression for productive CC and airway clearance for non-productive CC (fig1). The most commonly reported treatment for productive and non-productive CC was advice on fluid intake (n=63 and 67 respectively) whereas for refractory CC it was education on the cough reflex (n=62). Conclusion: Despite the research focus of SLT/PT treatment in refractory CC, the clinical techniques used are being applied across all types of CC. Techniques for productive CC are also being used for non-productive CC, reasons for this needs to be explored.