Cough overview
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Cough overview On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Cough overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] ; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2], M.Umer Tariq [3] Abiodun Akanmode,M.D.[4]
Overview
A cough is a sudden, often repetitive, spasmodic contraction of the thoracic cavity, resulting in a violent release of air from the lungs, and usually accompanied by a distinctive sound. A cough by itself is not a complete diagnosis but rather a symptom of an underlying condition, despite this, it accounts for one of the most common indications for visits to the general practitioners and family physicians with a good proportion of these cases resulting in a pulmonology referral.
Coughing is an action the body takes to get rid of substances that are irritating the air passages. The act of coughing can be triggered by a myriad of conditions physiologic and otherwise, A cough is mostly initiated to clear a buildup of phlegm withing the trachea. Coughing can also be triggered by a bolus of food entering the trachea and other parts of the respiratory tree rather than the esophagus due to a failure of the epiglottis. During the management of cough the duration is an important tool utilized by the clinicians; and when presented with a history of frequent or chronic coughing the presence of an underlying disease should be suspected. In non-smoking patients with a normal chest X-ray,chronic cough in 93% of this patients cohort can be attributed to asthma, heartburn or post-nasal drip. Other causes of chronic cough include chronic bronchitis and medications such as ACE inhibitors. Coughing can happen voluntarily as well as involuntarily.
The unclearness of most cases of cough with regards to etiology, duration, and other precipitating symptoms coupled with the lack of a universal guideline for quantifying cough results in variability during its assessment. Thus a thorough evaluation should be done to isolate the etiology of the patient's cough when they present, and prior to initiating therapy for symptomatic relief.