• Michael D Shields and Gary M Doherty.
• Queen's University Belfast & Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Centre for Infection & Immunity, Queen's University Belfast, Health Sciences Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, Bt7 9BL, N Ireland, UK. m.shields@qub.ac.uk
• Paediatr Respir Rev. 2013 Jun 1; 14 (2): 100-5; quiz 106, 137-8.

AbstractChronic cough has been variably defined as a cough lasting longer than 3, 4 or 8 weeks. Many post viral or pertussis like illnesses are associated with prolonged coughing that resolves over time. Management involves first trying to make a diagnosis and identify the presence of any underlying condition. Targeted treatments can then be employed. Trials of treatments are often used to make a diagnosis. Because natural resolution of cough is so common any trial of treatment to confirm a diagnosis should be time limited and the treatment only restarted if the coughing returns. Only a small proportion of children with an isolated non-specific dry cough have asthma and care is needed not to over diagnose asthma. Children with chronic wet cough may have protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB) that responds to a full course of antibiotics. Children with PBB failing to respond to treatment or with specific pointers should be investigated for specific causes of suppurative lung disease.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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