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Chronic Cough in Children: What to Do and When to Refer?
Lowri Williams1, Rossa Brugha1
1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Great Ormond Street Hospital, WC1N 3JH London, UK.
Abstract:
Cough is one of the leading causes for children and their families to seek medical advice, and it may be difficult for clinicians to determine the underlying cause. Cough is a pulmonary defence mechanism and may be acute, recurrent or defined as chronic if lasting beyond 4 weeks. Further differentiating a chronic cough into wet or dry may aid clinicians in establishing the possible cause. This article provides a framework for the assessment of chronic cough in children, signposts to the latest guidelines, explains when and how to further investigate chronic cases and considers when to refer to a tertiary respiratory service.
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