A Clinical Study of Misdiagnosis and Mistreatment in Chronic Cough

LI Li; YANG Rui-hong; LIU Hong-dan

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-3429.2015.10.013

Abstract：Objective To investigate the cause of misdiagnosis and the mistreatment of chronic cough. Methods The clini-cal data of 117 cases of chronic cough treated in our hospital during January 2012 and December 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. Results 117 cases complained of chronic cough and the course was 6-36 months, including 56 cases (47. 86%) of obvious nighttime irritating cough, 33 cases (28. 21%) with daytime paroxysmal cough, 16 cases (13. 68%) of chronic irritant dry cough or cough with a little sticky phlegm, 12 cases (10. 26%) of only a dry cough. Most of the patients complained of an itchy throat, chest tightness, chest pain, nausea, heartburn, expectoration, sometimes accompanied with a low fever. This group of patients had visited other hospi-tals 2 to 5 times, and all were misdiagnosed, including:70 cases (59. 83%) of bronchitis, 47 cases (40. 17%) of pharyngitis. In our (36. 75%) of cough variant asth-ma, 17 cases ( 14. 53%) of upper airway cough syndrome, 14 cases ( 11. 97%) of eosinophil; eosinophil bronchitis, 13 cases (11. 11%) of esophageal and gastric anti reflux disease, 11 cases (9. 40%) of allergic cough, 8 cases (6. 84%) of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor related cough, 2 cases (1. 71%) of lung cancer, 9 cases (7. 69%) of unknown etiology. Conclusion The cause of chronic cough is complex, and excessive treatment is often reported. Clinicians should broaden their view of diagnosis of chronic cough, avoid attributing it to only pharyngitis and bronchitis. Relevant medical examination techniques should be improved to make early diagnosis and avoid adverse consequences.