Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026
Methods for Detecting Cough and Airway Inflammation in Mice
Published on: August 2, 2024
Clinical pathways for chronic cough in children
E J Bailey1, P S Morris, S G Kruske
1Menzies School of Health Research, Child Health Division, Darwin, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. emily_bailey@health.qld.gov.au
Insights
No studies met inclusion criteria for this review on clinical pathways for chronic cough in children. Further research is needed to determine if these pathways improve patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Respiratory Medicine
- Evidence-Based Medicine
Background:
- Chronic cough is a common and distressing symptom in children, impacting families and potentially indicating serious underlying conditions.
- Clinical guidelines can improve care, but specific pathways for pediatric chronic cough are needed due to age-related differences in causes and treatments.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of clinical pathways is crucial for optimizing the management of chronic cough in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of utilizing a clinical pathway for managing children experiencing chronic cough.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted in May 2007 across multiple databases including CENTRAL, Cochrane Airways Group Register, MEDLINE, and EMBASE.
- Inclusion criteria focused on randomized controlled trials with parallel group designs comparing the use versus non-use of a clinical pathway for pediatric chronic cough.
- Two independent reviewers were planned for study selection and data extraction to ensure rigorous methodology.
Main Results:
- The search yielded 471 potentially relevant titles.
- However, no studies met the pre-defined inclusion criteria for this review.
Conclusions:
- Currently, there is insufficient evidence to recommend the use of clinical pathways for treating chronic cough in children.
- Individualized assessment of symptoms and signs is recommended for treatment and further investigation, considering existing evidence from other reviews.
- High-quality randomized controlled trials are necessary to establish the efficacy of clinical pathways in pediatric chronic cough management.
Background:
Chronic cough (a cough lasting longer than 4 weeks) is a common symptom presenting to primary care in Australia and internationally. Chronic cough costs the community, is distressing to parents, and ignoring cough may lead to delayed diagnosis and illness progression of serious underlying respiratory disease. Clinical guidelines have been shown to provide more efficient and effective patient care and can clarify clinical decision making. Cough guidelines have been designed to facilitate management of chronic cough, however treatment recommendations vary and specific clinical pathways for the treatment of chronic cough in children are important, as the cause and treatments for cough in a child vary significantly adults. Therefore, it would be beneficial to clinical practice to systematically evaluate the use of clinical pathways for the treatment of chronic cough in children.
Objectives:
To evaluate the effectiveness of using a clinical pathway in the management of children with chronic cough.
Search Strategy:
The Cochrane Register of controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Cochrane Airways Group Specialised Register, MEDLINE, EMBASE, review articles and reference lists of relevant articles were searched. The search was carried out in May 2007.
Selection Criteria:
All randomised controlled trials with parallel group design comparing use vs non-use of a clinical pathway for treatment of chronic cough in children.
Data Collection And Analysis:
Results of searches were reviewed against the pre-determined criteria for inclusion. Two reviewers independently selected the studies and it was planned that data extraction would have been done in duplicate.
Main Results:
The search identified 471 potentially relevant titles but no studies met criteria for inclusion in the review.
Authors' Conclusions:
Without further available evidence, recommendations for the use of clinical pathways for the treatment of chronic cough in children cannot be made. Until further evidence is available, the decision for further investigation and treatment for the child presenting with chronic cough should be made on an individual basis (i.e. dependent on symptoms and signs) with consideration for existing data from other Cochrane reviews on specific treatments for cough. Trials are required to provide evidence on the effectiveness of clinical pathways for the treatment of chronic cough in children.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease III: Chronic Bronchitis Features
01:20Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-I: Introduction
01:23Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease I: Introduction
01:24Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Smoking is a primary risk factor for COPD, with over 80% of patients having a history of it. Patients typically experience progressive dyspnea or labored breathing, frequent coughing, and recurrent pulmonary infections. Many eventually succumb to respiratory failure, characterized by...
01:30Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-V: Nursing Management
Assessment
01:29Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-V: Management
Smoking Cessation