Less common causes of chronic cough include chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, postinfectious cough, bronchogenic carcinoma, cough induced by use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, psychogenic cough and habit cough, and chronic interstitial pulmonary disease. Less common but important causes of chronic cough in young children include congenital anomalies, heart disease, foreign bodies, aspiration and environmental factors. The ACCP guidelines discuss when it is sufficient to take only a personal history and do a physical examination and when more expensive tests are needed for a diagnosis. Guidelines and algorithms for evaluating acute and chronic cough in immunocompetent and immunocompromised adults, and for evaluating cough in children, are presented in the report. One section of the ACCP statement provides detailed guidance for using this algorithm.
Antitussive therapy is indicated when cough serves no useful function such as clearing the airways.
The two kinds of antitussive therapy are specific and nonspecific. Nonspecific antitussive therapy is directed at the symptom and is prescribed to control cough. Because of the high probability of being able to determine the causes of cough and prescribe specific treatment, there is a limited role for nonspecific antitussive therapy. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference.