How best to measure cough clinically

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Clinical Measurement
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Cough is a common symptom with significant impact on quality of life.
• Objective and subjective methods are needed for comprehensive cough assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline methods for measuring cough severity, frequency, and impact on quality of life.
• To discuss the utility of various assessment tools for cough.

Main Methods:

• Cough severity assessed using Visual Analogue Scale.
• Cough frequency measured objectively with validated monitors (e.g., Leicester Cough Monitor, VitaloJAK).
• Health-Related Quality of Life evaluated with questionnaires (e.g., Leicester Cough Questionnaire).

Main Results:

• Subjective tools like Visual Analogue Scale can assess cough severity.
• Objective cough monitors provide quantifiable frequency data.
• Validated questionnaires effectively measure the impact of cough on quality of life.

Conclusions:

• A combination of subjective and objective tools is optimal for comprehensive cough assessment.
• Validated tools exist for measuring cough severity, frequency, and quality of life impact.
• Cough reflex sensitivity is more for mechanism investigation than efficacy assessment.