Chronic Cough: A neglected area in pediatric clinical practice
Chronic Cough: A neglected area in pediatric clinical practice
Yazar: Özdemir, Ali
Dergi: Dicle Tıp Dergisi, Vol. 45 No. 3, 2018
Anahtar kelimeler: Health Care Administration ; Sağlık Kurumları Yönetimi ; Children,chronic cough

Objective:Cough is one of the most common but usually neglected complaint in pediatricclinical practice. We aimed to explore the knowledge, attitude and clinicalpractice among general pediatricians on chronic cough management. Methods:Data were prepared as questionnaires that had been developed by coughguidelines in the literature.  Results:Among 109 general pediatricians, a total of 88 (80,7%) participated into thestudy; 43.2 % were female and the mean age was 42.01±7.89 yrs. The response forthe definition of chronic cough ranged from 2 weeks to 6 months. Of theparticipants, 45.4% stated that they frequently evaluated children with chroniccough. The majority (79.5%) sought consultation from one to four discretespecialties. The most frequently ordered two tests were chest radiography(88.6%) and complete blood count (30.7%). The majority of pediatriciansprescribed antibiotics (95.5%), antitussives (67.0%), expectorants (77.3%),anti-histamines (62.5%) and empiric anti-reflux medications (69.3%) to childrenwith chronic cough. Most commonly prescribed antibiotic was macrolides (95.5%).Among pediatricians, only 12.5% questioned passive smoking exposure and rarelyadvised professional counseling against smoking to parents (55.6%).Overall,66.0% of pediatricians agreed that they did not feel fully satisfied in themanagement of chronic cough in children. All supported the preparation of anational guideline and were willing for postgraduate education on chronic coughmanagement.  Conclusions:This study emphasizes the pediatricians’ lack of knowledge on chronic coughmanagement in children. Education is crucially important on chronic coughmanagement among general pediatricians which possibly decrease the differencesin personal practice.  

Objective:Cough is one of the most common but usually neglected complaint in pediatricclinical practice. We aimed to explore the knowledge, attitude and clinicalpractice among general pediatricians on chronic cough management. Methods:Data were prepared as questionnaires that had been developed by coughguidelines in the literature.  Results:Among 109 general pediatricians, a total of 88 (80,7%) participated into thestudy; 43.2 % were female and the mean age was 42.01±7.89 yrs. The response forthe definition of chronic cough ranged from 2 weeks to 6 months. Of theparticipants, 45.4% stated that they frequently evaluated children with chroniccough. The majority (79.5%) sought consultation from one to four discretespecialties. The most frequently ordered two tests were chest radiography(88.6%) and complete blood count (30.7%). The majority of pediatriciansprescribed antibiotics (95.5%), antitussives (67.0%), expectorants (77.3%),anti-histamines (62.5%) and empiric anti-reflux medications (69.3%) to childrenwith chronic cough. Most commonly prescribed antibiotic was macrolides (95.5%).Among pediatricians, only 12.5% questioned passive smoking exposure and rarelyadvised professional counseling against smoking to parents (55.6%).Overall,66.0% of pediatricians agreed that they did not feel fully satisfied in themanagement of chronic cough in children. All supported the preparation of anational guideline and were willing for postgraduate education on chronic coughmanagement.  Conclusions:This study emphasizes the pediatricians’ lack of knowledge on chronic coughmanagement in children. Education is crucially important on chronic coughmanagement among general pediatricians which possibly decrease the differencesin personal practice.