Pediatric cough: what the otolaryngologist needs to know

Abstract

Pediatric cough is a common complaint in 35% of preschool children and 9% of 7-11-year-olds. The cause of the cough is often elusive. This review article presents a framework from which to approach the pediatric patient with chronic cough. The cause of cough in the pediatric patient is often allergy, postnasal drip, asthma, or infection. The existence of cough-variant asthma has been brought into question and evidence is detailed in this article. The treatment of chronic cough in a pediatric population should be approached from a multidisciplinary team consisting of pulmonologists, gastroenterologists, allergists, immunologists and otolaryngologists. Once a specific diagnosis is determined, treatment should be specific to that diagnosis.