Chronic Cough: Referral Sources, Etiology, Prevalence, Symptoms and Treatments In Adults A Survey of Allergy Specialists

Chronic cough (CC) affects 11% of the U.S. population.This study described the referral sources, prevalence, symptoms and treatment efficacy for patients diagnosed with CC who presented to allergy specialists.(AS). This cross-sectional descriptive design involved administering an online survey to 177 AS. The survey queried each provider's experiences with chronic cough patients, including the prevalence of symptoms as well as perceived efficacy of treatments. 103 (58%) AS responded to the survey. Primary care family physicians and other primary care providers were the most common source of referral of CC patients to AS. Only 20% of the respondents reported a complete resolution of the symptoms for more than 75% of their CC patients. The top four complaints reported by CC patients were social embarrassment, loss of sleep, decreased quality of life and sleep disruption. The most frequent symptoms when making a diagnosis of CC were night time cough, frequency of cough, productive cough and both day and night time cough. The top four frequent treatments for CC were anti-refux treatments, inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) alone or in cobination with long acting beta-agonists (LABA), short acting bronchodilators, and first generation antihistamines. None of the therapies were rated "very effective” in greater than 50% of the CC patients. A majority of referrals to AS are from primary care providers and not other speciality practices. The complaints of CC patients are different than the diagnostic criteria used by AS. Available treatments for CC do not effectively resolve the symptoms of this condition.