Characteristics and management of patients with refractory or unexplained chronic cough in outpatient Hospital Clinics in Spain: a retrospective multicenter study
[EN]Purpose Chronic cough (cough that persists for ≥ 8 weeks) can cause a range of physical symptoms and psychosocial effects that significantly impair patients’ quality of life. Refractory chronic cough (RCC) and unexplained chronic cough (UCC) are challenging to diagnose and manage, with substanti...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Salamanca (USAL) |
| Repositorio: | GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/168587 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10366/168587 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Refractory chronic cough Unexplained chronic cough Noninterventional study Health resource utilization Cough Diagnosis Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation Chronic Disease 32 Ciencias Médicas 3205.08 Enfermedades Pulmonares calidad, acceso y evaluación de la atención de salud enfermedad crónica tos diagnóstico |
| Sumario: | [EN]Purpose Chronic cough (cough that persists for ≥ 8 weeks) can cause a range of physical symptoms and psychosocial effects that significantly impair patients’ quality of life. Refractory chronic cough (RCC) and unexplained chronic cough (UCC) are challenging to diagnose and manage, with substantial economic implications for healthcare systems. Methods This retrospective multicenter non-interventional study aimed to characterize the profile and health resource consumption of patients with RCC or UCC who attended outpatient clinics at Spanish hospitals. Data were collected from medical records of patients with RCC or UCC for up to 3 years before study inclusion. Results The patient cohort (n = 196) was representative of the chronic cough population (77.6% female, mean age 58.5 years). Two-thirds of patients (n = 126) had RCC. The most frequently visited doctors were pulmonologists (93.4% of patients) and primary care physicians (78.6%), with a mean of 5 visits per patient over three years’ observation. The most common diagnostic tests were chest x-ray (83.7%) and spirometry with bronchodilation (77.0%). The most commonly prescribed treatments were proton pump inhibitors (79.6%) and respiratory medications (87.8%). Antibiotics were prescribed empirically to 56 (28.6%) patients. Differences between RCC or UCC groups related mainly to approaches used to manage cough-associated conditions (gastroesophageal reflux disease, asthma) in patients with RCC. Conclusion RCC and UCC are responsible for high health resource utilization in Spanish hospitals. Specific treatments targeting the pathological processes driving chronic cough may provide opportunities to reduce the associated burden for patients and healthcare systems. |
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