Chronic Cough: Addressing Multifactorial Sources

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Chronic cough can be a debilitating condition with a significant impact on quality of life. It is commonly defined as symptoms present for greater than 8 weeks in adults and 4 weeks in children. Its prevalence is approximately 11% in the United States and one-fifth of these patients also have a diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis. For otolaryngologist, it can be one of the most daunting diagnosis to treat. There are no standardized guidelines for the work-up of chronic cough and decision-making on a treatment regimen is complicated by the fact that many of these patients have multiple causes of cough, including asthma, gastro-esophageal reflux, obesity, chronic bronchitis, COPD, heart failure, and medication side effects. Determining which of these disease processes are contributing to the cough is a challenge to most otolaryngologist. In this multi-disciplinary panel, we will use interactive case presentations to discuss the workup, treatment algorithms, and various medical therapies to address these difficult patients. This presentation will discuss practical tips to use when deciding to proceed with surgery versus medical therapy, in the setting of chronic rhinosinusitis or abnormal imaging studies. This panel will focus on more complex patient presentations with one or more causes of cough. Our panelists will describe how they implemented a cough clinic into their practice and tips for patient selection. Lastly, the experts will discuss new medication interventions, such as gefapixant, that may change the way we treat chronic cough.