Patient Reported Burden of Chronic Cough in a Managed Care Organization

ABSTRACT Background The burden of chronic cough (CC) requires better understanding. Objective To determine the severity, health status, and healthcare resource utilization among patients with CC identified by electronic health records on two visits separated by ≥1 year. Methods Cough-related burden were collected through survey from patients with CC, including validated questionnaires [the cough health status Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), the cough hypersensitivity Hull Airway Reflux Questionnaire (HARQ), the Cough Quality of Life Questionnaire (CQLQ)], CC-associated respiratory and gastrointestinal comorbidities, and treatment responses. Spearman correlation coefficients were reported to examine the associations among LCQ, HARQ, CQLQ. Patient demographics and patient-reported CC features were compared between males and females, and among ethnic groups using Robust Poisson regression models. Results The survey was completed by 565 patients who were 64.8±12.6 years, 75.8% female, and 60.4% White. CC duration was 8.6±10.5 years with an average weekly severity of 5.3±2.3 (maximum 10). The LCQ score was 11.3±3.9 (maximum 21). The HARQ score was 33.3±13.6 (normal ≤13). The CQLQ score was 56.9±17.5 (maximum 112, worse with higher scores). The Spearman rank correlations were high between LCQ and HARQ (-0.65), LCQ and CQLQ (-0.80), and HARQ and CQLQ (0.69). Patients with CC-associated respiratory and gastrointestinal comorbidities generally showed similar results regarding the above questionnaires. Treatment responses were suboptimal. Women compared to men and non-Whites compared to Whites reported significantly worse cough severity, poorer LCQ, HARQ, and CQLQ scores. Conclusions CC is self-reported as a burdensome condition, particularly in women and non-White minorities, which markedly affects daily living with inadequate response to treatments.