Methods of Objectifying Cough

Cough is one of the most common symptoms encountered by clinicians. Attempts to measure cough date back to early 1950s and since then, significant progress has been made in understanding cough and many methods have been developed. Methods for cough measurement can be divided into subjective and objective methods and further according to the aspect of cough they assess. Subjective methods for cough assessment provide us with information about patient’s personal experiences of cough and about psychosocial aspect of cough. Most widely used subjective methods include cough severity visual analogue scale, cough severity diaries, and various quality of life questionnaires. Objective methods for cough assessment focus mainly on cough frequency and on cough reflex sensitivity. Most widely used methods from this group include cough monitors and cough inhalation challenges. This review focuses on the most widely used cough measurement methods and points out their advantages and limitations for use in research and clinical practice. The ability to measure cough in clinical and research conditions could be used to determine treatment outcomes, to test new therapies, and to further study pathophysiology and physiology of cough.