A 39-Year-Old Man With Refractory Chronic Cough Accompanied by Regurgitation and Belching

A 39-year-old man who did not smoke was admitted to the hospital with recurrent cough for 1 year, accompanied by sputum expectoration (with a small amount of white phlegm), acid regurgitation, and belching. Nasal symptoms or other cough-related contributing factors were denied. The patient reported that his cough mainly occurred at nighttime and was aggravated in the supine position. Vomiting could occur when the cough was violent. He denied fever, dysphonia, chest tightness, wheezing, chest pain and hemoptysis, abdominal pain, and bloating. The patient had initially presented to the local hospital and underwent a chest CT scan. The chest CT scan showed slight and scattered patchy infiltration in bilateral lung fields and without other significant pulmonary lesions. Anti-infective treatment was administered but was not effective for ameliorating the cough symptoms. He then received an inhaled corticosteroid, antihistamines, antileukotriene agents, or proton pump inhibitors for 6 months. However, all these treatments failed to alleviate the patient's cough. He had a history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia for > 10 years and was treated with valsartan (an angiotensin II receptor blocker) and atorvastatin. In the past year, the patient had lost 10 kg of weight, and his current BMI was 27.72 kg/m².