[Assessment and management of chronic cough in adults]

Chronic cough is one of the most common symptoms for which outpatient care is sought. The most frequent causes are upper airway cough syndrome, asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux. It is often difficult to determine the origin of chronic cough based on the medical history and physical examination. Empirical treatment directed at the three aforementioned etiologies is thus of considerable value in the initial workup. Treatment failure is most commonly due to insufficient treatment (dosage or duration) or to the coexistence of several causes needing simultaneous use of different drugs.