Treatable traits in chronic cough: a prospective evaluation for predicting cough persistence

The concept of treatable traits has been proposed for managing chronic cough; however, evidence supporting its clinical utility remains limited. This study investigated the relationship between baseline traits and cough persistence in a prospective registry of patients with chronic cough.

We analysed data from 426 patients with chronic cough enrolled in the Korean Chronic Cough Registry. 11 potential treatable traits were assessed at baseline. The primary outcome was cough persistence, defined as a cough severity visual analogue scale (VAS) score >20 at the last follow-up visit.

After a median follow-up of 12 months (interquartile range: 6-24 months), 215 patients (50.5%) had persistent cough (VAS >20 mm). The most prevalent traits were sputum production (60.5%), cough hypersensitivity symptoms (41.8%) and type 2 inflammation (39.1%). Among baseline traits, only cough hypersensitivity symptoms were significantly associated with cough persistence (p=0.024). In multivariate analysis, cough hypersensitivity symptoms (adjusted OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.15-2.78; p=0.010) and older age (≥60 years) (adjusted OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.34-3.20; p=0.001) were independently associated with cough persistence.

These findings suggest that cough hypersensitivity symptoms are associated with long-term outcomes of chronic cough. Further studies are needed to validate the role of treatable traits in chronic cough management and to better understand factors associated with cough persistence.