Investigating Tetracaine Lollipops as an Adjuvant Therapy Option for Neurogenic Cough

Neurogenic cough is a classification of chronic cough characterized by laryngeal hypersensitivity. Despite standard treatments, complete symptom resolution remains rare. Tetracaine lollipops, commonly used for oropharyngeal anesthesia, have not been studied for acute cough suppression. This study evaluates their efficacy in providing acute symptom relief in patients with neurogenic cough.

A retrospective, survey-based study was conducted with 23 patients diagnosed with neurogenic cough treated over a 1 year period with 0.5% tetracaine lollipops. Patients applied the lollipop to the posterior oropharynx for 20 to 30 seconds until numbing occurred. Cough relief was categorized as significant (≥70% reduction), moderate (40%-60%), mild (10%-30%), or no relief (0%).

Tetracaine lollipops reduced cough intensity by an average of 42%. Sixteen patients (69.6%) reported them effective, with 6 patients (26.1%) reporting significant relief, 6 patients (26.1%) reporting moderate relief, 9 patients (39.1%) reporting mild relief, and 2 patients (8.7%) reporting no relief. Cough suppression lasted 30 minutes to 2 hours in most cases (56.5%). A majority of the cohort (56.5%) expressed willingness to continue lollipop use, and 60.9% reported using them daily.

Tetracaine lollipops are an effective short-term treatment option for acute neurogenic cough, providing improvement in most patients, with an average response reflecting moderate relief. They were well-adopted and frequently utilized daily. Further research is needed to refine their role in treatment.