When Refractory Is Not the End: Redefining Chronic Cough Through Tertiary Center Evaluation

Abstract

Objective: To describe the clinical outcomes of refractory chronic cough (RCC) diagnosis and management at a tertiary care chronic cough clinic. Patients and Methods: This is a prospective study of all eligible patients referred to the Mayo Clinic Chronic Cough Clinic between October 6, 2020 and April 9, 2021. All adult patients aged 18 years or older with cough persisting beyond 8 weeks in accordance with the American College of Chest Physicians definition were screened. Only participants with research authorization and consent were included in this study. Results: A total of 278 patients were screened; 100 patients were enrolled in this study. On the initial visit, 56 patients who were considered to have RCC were invited for a 3-month follow-up survey. Of those 56 patients, electronic health record review clarified that 35 (62%) had etiology-confirmed chronic cough 21 (37%) patients had unexplained chronic cough. Conclusion: This study shows that RCC needs further attentiveness toward diagnosis and trials of therapy to truly ascertain those who have unexplained chronic cough such as at specialized chronic cough centers.