The Relationship Between Self-Reported Nocturnal Cough Symptoms and Acoustic Cough Monitoring

This pilot investigation explored the relationship between self-reported clinical cough symptoms and objective acoustic cough data in individuals with nocturnal chronic cough.

Ten participants diagnosed with chronic cough with a nocturnal component underwent two study sessions, approximately 1 week apart. Participants completed questionnaires regarding cough severity and their perceptions of using a smartphone application (app) to audio record cough. Between sessions, participants utilized the continuous audio recorder while sleeping. The relationship between the number of coughs captured at night and the self-reported impact of cough awakening during sleep were analyzed.

We found strong correlations (ρ = -0.78, -0.87) between formalized Leicester Cough Questionnaire scores and acoustically determined cough frequency. However, there were large differences between the average number of self-reported cough awakening events (0-3) and the number of acoustically recorded coughs (0-639). While users expressed comfort with recording and sharing acoustic data (4.8/5 Likert rating), concerns over confidentiality in daytime use were noted (4.1/5).

Formalized cough questionnaires provide insight into chronic cough at night but may fall short in quantifying the shear frequency of coughs patients are experiencing. Although continuous audio recordings via smartphone emerged as a comfortable means for patients to supply quantifiable data regarding the impact of chronic cough during sleep, future endeavors in cough acoustic monitoring should prioritize privacy considerations for daytime use and work to share information with health care providers.