CHRONIC COUGH IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Cough is a common symptom that brings a child to medical attention. Usually, chronic cough in children is defined as coughing for more than four weeks, but BTS recommendations for the assesment of cough in children give severel overlapping categories of chronic cough, defined with the help of good history and thorough physical examination. Diagnostic algorithms of chronic children cough are given in the article. A single cause can be found in up to 82 proc. of all cases of chronic cough and the majority of these can be suceessfully treated. Thus, it is imperative that one looks for the underlying cause and treat appropriately rather than use cough suppressants indiscriminately.