Chronic cough is a globally common problem, affecting approximately 5–10% of adults in the community. It remains a persistent clinical and public health concern worldwide, with no approved therapies. However, recent studies have been revealing the mechanisms and therapeutic targets for this condition. Here, we have collected the articles published as a result of our recent call for papers on chronic cough.
Editorials
"Should Peptest be routinely used in a cough clinic? The answer is yes, but only as part of more intricate workup in which discovering the nature of the reflux is as important as identifying its presence."
Zhang M, Sykes DL. Coughing our guts up: how do we diagnose reflux cough? ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00406-2024
"Heritability can be added to the characteristics of chronic cough, making it a disease in its own right."
Morice A. Chronic cough: symptom, sign or disease? ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00449-2024
Mini-review
"Chronic cough in patients with cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy and vestibular areflexia syndrome (CANVAS), a rare neurological disorder with a repeat expansion in the RFC1 gene, shares similar characteristics with cough hypersensitivity syndrome."
Guilleminault L, Mazzone SB, Chazelas P, et al. Cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy and vestibular areflexia syndrome: a neurogenic cough prototype. ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00024-2024
Original research articles
"A salivary pepsin concentration >76.10 ng·mL−1 is of good diagnostic value for gastroesophageal reflux-induced chronic cough (GERC), especially in non-acidic GERC. The induced sputum pepsin concentration has a low diagnostic value."
Gu W, Chen W, Zhang T, et al. Diagnostic value of the pepsin concentration in saliva and induced sputum for gastroesophageal reflux-induced chronic cough: a prospective clinical study. ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00045-2024
"This two-generation study finds that chronic cough is a heritable trait independent of asthma, smoking and other confounders. Nonproductive cough in parent associates only with nonproductive cough in offspring and the same applies for productive cough."
Emilsson ÖI, Johansson H, Johannessen A, et al. Heritability of cough across two generations: the RHINESSA study. ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00071-2024
"Refractory chronic cough (RCC) is common in patients referred to cough clinics. Because the prevalence of RCC differs slightly depending on the diagnostic criteria, we need to define which criteria are the most appropriate in routine practice."
Kukiełka P, Johansson K, Białek-Gosk K, et al. Prevalence of refractory and unexplained chronic cough in adults treated in cough centre. ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00254-2024
"Disease control in chronic cough represents a distinct concept that is not fully captured by conventional patient-reported outcome measures for cough. There is a need to develop both a consensus on this concept and specific measurement tools."
Park JY, Jun H, Lee S-E, et al. Exploring the concept of disease control in chronic cough. ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00320-2024 
Research letters
"Chronic cough is a common presentation to respiratory specialists. Here, we survey their opinion on diagnosis, investigation and management. Whilst investigations were appropriate, treatments were not guideline-based. Further education is needed."
Morice A. A survey of UK respiratory specialists' opinion on the management of chronic cough. ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00021-2024
"Leicester Cough Questionnaire total scores were graded to severe (3.00–12.28), moderate (12.29–17.53) and mild (17.54–21.00), based on the prevalence of multiple self-reported doctor's visits due to cough among 1248 subjects with current cough."
Koskela HO, Kaulamo JT, Latti AM. Severity grading of the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in chronic cough. ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00142-2024
"Using both objective cough monitoring and patient-reported outcomes measures, this study describes the burden of cough for patients with non-IPF pulmonary fibrosis."
Kebbe J, Hart SP, Kaner RJ, et al. Objective measurement of cough in pulmonary fibrosis: a cohort study – ImpaCT. ERJ Open Res 2024; 10: 00310-2024
Correspondence
"The implementation of exhaled nitric oxide fraction (FENO) as a biomarker in patients with chronic cough requires sex-stratified FENO reference values in general and sex-stratified cut-off levels in the management of unexplained chronic cough."
Riemann S, Arinze JT, Malinovschi A, et al. Need for sex-stratified reference values for exhaled nitric oxide as a biomarker in chronic cough. ERJ Open Res 2024; 20: 00202-2024
This page was last updated on 30 September 2024