Abstract
The cough reflex is modulated throughout growth and development. Cough—but not expiration reflex—appears to be absent at birth, but increases with maturation. Thus, acute cough is the most frequent respiratory symptom during the first few years of life. Later on, the pubertal development seems to play a significant role in changing of the cough threshold during childhood and adolescence resulting in sex-related differences in cough reflex sensitivity in adulthood. Asthma is the major cause of chronic cough in children. Prolonged acute cough is usually related to the long-lasting effects of a previous viral airway infection or to the particular entity called protracted bacterial bronchitis. Cough pointers and type may orient toward specific etiologies, such as barking cough in croup or tracheomalacia, paroxystic whooping cough in Pertussis. Cough is productive in protracted bacterial bronchitis, sinusitis or bronchiectasis. Cough is usually associated with wheeze or dyspnea on exertion in asthma; however, it may be the sole symptom in cough variant asthma. Thus, pediatric cough has particularities differentiating it from adult cough, so the approach and management should be developmentally specific.
Highlights
THE COUGH REFLEX Cough and expiration reflex are vital airway defensive mechanisms
The expiration reflex differs from the cough reflex in that it lacks the preparatory inspiration (Widdicombe and Fontana, 2006)
The long-term impact of pain on behavior and/or psychophysics of pain perception during development have received some attention (McEwen, 1998; Buskila et al, 2003), but no such data exist for dyspnea or other nociceptive respiratory sensations such as the urge to cough in children
Summary
Iulia Ioan 1, Mathias Poussel 2,3, Laurianne Coutier 3, Jana Plevkova 4, Ivan Poliacek 5, Donald C. The cough reflex is modulated throughout growth and development. Acute cough is the most frequent respiratory symptom during the first few years of life. The pubertal development seems to play a significant role in changing of the cough threshold during childhood and adolescence resulting in sex-related differences in cough reflex sensitivity in adulthood. Prolonged acute cough is usually related to the long-lasting effects of a previous viral airway infection or to the particular entity called protracted bacterial bronchitis. Cough is productive in protracted bacterial bronchitis, sinusitis or bronchiectasis. Cough is usually associated with wheeze or dyspnea on exertion in asthma; it may be the sole symptom in cough variant asthma. Pediatric cough has particularities differentiating it from adult cough, so the approach and management should be developmentally specific
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