Abstract

Cough is a common complaint that often necessitates a visit to a primary care provider,1 but typically resolves spontaneously within a few weeks. Chronic cough, which is a cough

Abstract

Cough is a common complaint that often necessitates a visit to a primary care provider,1 but typically resolves spontaneously within a few weeks. Chronic cough, which is a cough that has lasted for more than 8 weeks, is a more difficult condition to manage and satisfactory control is not achieved in a substantial number of patients.2 It has been suggested that many cases of chronic cough may share a common mechanism: that of a hypersensitive cough response.3 This has led to the definition of a new disease entity: cough hypersensitivity syndrome (CHS).4–6 In an expert interview, Professor Kian Fan Chung of the National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College and the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust, London, UK, discusses CHS and the recent advances in our understanding of this condition that is leading to the development of novel treatment approaches.

Keywords

Chronic cough, cough hypersensitivity syndrome, diagnosis, treatment

Disclosure

Kian Fan Chung has been renumerated for participation on advisory boards of AstraZeneca, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, 4D Pharma, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Menlo Therapeutics discussing new therapies for respiratory conditions including cough.

Acknowledgements

Medical writing assistance was provided by Katrina Mountfort of Touch Medical Media and was supported by Touch Medical Media.

Review Process

This is an expert interview and, as such, has not undergone the journal’s standard peer review process.

Authorship

The named author meets the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship of this manuscript, takes responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, and has given final approval for the version to be published.

Open Access

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction provided the original author and source are given appropriate credit. © The Author 2018.

Received

July 19, 2018

Published Online

September 05, 2018

Correspondence

Kian Fan Chung, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, Dovehouse Street, London SW3 6LY, UK. E: f.chung@imperial.ac.uk

Support

No funding was received in the publication of this article.