Useful approach to the diagnosis and treatment of chronic cough |
Young-Il Koh |
경북대학교 의과대학 내과학교실 |
만성기침의 진단과 치료를 위한 유용한 접근법 |
고영일 |
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea |
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Abstract |
It is necessary to recognize how to approach patients with chronic cough to diagnosis and treat the causes, because cough may resolve
only after the management of the causative disease. There are many reports of successful management of cohorts of patients
with chronic cough, by use of variants of anatomic, diagnostic approach to investigation. It should be recognized whether initial empiric
treatment or specific treatment following diagnostic investigations is begun and when cough improves since the treatment for
each disease. The resolution of cough in response to the empiric or specific treatment should be assessed to confirm the diagnosis of
the diseases as a cause of cough. The treatment should be given in sequential and additive steps because more than one cause of
cough may be present in some patients. However, in up to 20% of referrals to cough clinics, the cause of cough remains unclear
even after extensive investigations and treatment trials, suggesting that aspects of the anatomic, diagnostic investigation protocol
need to be modified. Hence, more research and better treatments for chronic cough are needed. (Korean J Med 78:674-681, 2010) |
Key Words:
Chronic cough; Diagnosis; Treatment |
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