[Prolonged hiccups causing worsened quality of life--successful medical therapy]

Hiccups are intermittent, involuntary spasmodic contractions of the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles leading to the cessation of inspiration due to an abrupt closure of the glottis. Hiccups are usually innocuous phenomena, which could easily be terminated by simple manoeuvres but sometimes they become permanent and intractable causing significant decline in the patient's quality of life. Besides a number of provoking exogenous factors hiccups are caused by organic or psychical disorders. This why in cases of permanent hiccups detailed investigations are important. Beyond physical manoeuvres, pharmacotherapy, surgical intervention and some other therapeutic measures may be effective forms of treatment. In the present report the authors give a review of two patients, whose permanent hiccups were successfully treated with combined medical therapy. They review the causes and therapy of permanent hiccups and call the attention to the therapeutic value of baclofen, a gamma-aminobutyric acid analog compound.