Airway Inflamation Caused By Trauma Of Chronic Cough

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Ear, Nose and Throat
Article Date: 09 Aug 2006 - 14:00 PDT

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New findings suggest that airway trauma, caused by the act of coughing, may cause inflammation associated with chronic cough. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School conducted a cross-sectional, controlled study of 24 respiratory patients with chronic cough. The patients were split into four groups: intrapulmonary diseases, extrapulmonary diseases, unexplained cough, and four additional volunteers provided the nonsmoking, asymptomatic controls. All patients underwent flexible bronchoscopy, and a comparative analysis was performed. Results suggest that the airway inflammation associated with chronic cough, based on morphologic appearance and inflammatory cell counting, may be due to the trauma of cough itself and not to an underlying cause of cough. Researchers conclude that, because airway inflammation caused by chronic cough may be similar to that seen in other respiratory conditions, clinicians must be cautious when attributing importance to inflammatory changes in patients with chronic cough.

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Source: Newsbriefs from the journal Chest, August 2006

This study appears in the August issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
American College of Chest Physicians

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