Chronic cough in children: Is it asthma?

Introduction: Chronic cough is one of the most common complaints in children. It is mostly self-limiting illness. Recent findings show that most children with chronic cough without other respiratory symptoms do not have asthma. Aims and objectives : In our study, we wanted to find out how common asthma is behind chronic cough in children. Methods : We reviewed the medical records of all children with chronic cough (cough lasting more than 4 weeks) who were referred to our outpatient clinic from 1st January 2013 to 31st June 2013. Results: A total of 94 children (54.3 % girls) with the median age 5.0 (range 0.75-17.5) years were included in the study. Skin prick tests were performed in 95.7 % of children (negative in 76.6 %) and FeNO in 80.9 % (negative in 95 %). Spirometry was done in all children older than 5 years (n=54) and it was normal in 90.7 %. Metacholine test was done in 14 children, in 10 it was positive. Sweat test was done in 13 children, all tests were negative. X-ray was performed in 26 children, in 53.8 % it was normal, in others minor changes were found. Microbiology testing was negative in 78.1 % of 24 performed cases. Of the 94 patients, 58.5 % were diagnosed with postviral cough and 17.1 % with asthma. In others psychogenic cough (19.1 %), GERD (3.2 % and OSAS (2.1 %) were diagnosed. Conclusions: Detailed history of other respiratory symptoms, positive skin prick tests and/or positive FeNO and/or positive metacholine test revealed that asthma was underlying cause in 17 % of children with chronic cough.