What is cough and what should be measured?
Section snippets
What is cough?
Cough is defined in the dictionary as ‘A violent expulsion of air from the lungs with a characteristic sound’ [1], a description favoured by some clinicians [2]. However textbooks and reviews make it more complicated. They identify three phases: an initial inspiration (the inspiratory phase), followed by closure of the glottis and a forced expiratory effort (the compressive phase), followed by opening of the glottis and vigorous expiration (the expulsive phase), [(e.g.) 3]. Fig. 1 is a
What may be measured?
Since cough (and the ER) have many facets, there are many parameters that may be measured. In analytical studies of cough and its mechanisms, as many of these parameters as possible should be considered. In clinical studies it is usually appropriate and desirable, for reasons of simplicity, to measure only one or two of the parameters, usually including cough frequency assessed acoustically. The methods chosen should depend on the question being asked.
How and when may cough be measured?
As discussed elsewhere [19], the answer depends on the question being asked. The ‘simple’ question, ‘is the cough getting better or worse?’, may be answered by a cough questionnaire or by an automated audiometric device. More complicated questions, such as those that ask about the mechanisms of the cough, require more complicated methods [19]. To give one of many examples, see [19] for others: gastro-oesophageal reflux is one of the commonest causes of cough. There is dispute as to whether the
Conclusions
Cough is a complex phenomenon, and different basic and clinical scientists may give different definitions of it. This does not matter very much provided the definition is clear. There are many methods for measuring and assessing cough. Each has advantages and disadvantages, and the choice of them, apart from practical and financial considerations, must depend on the question being asked.
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2021, Respiratory Physiology and NeurobiologyCitation Excerpt :These values, however, were not compared to normative values from age-matched healthy individuals to indicate cough deficits (Kotwal et al., 2020). A typical cough is a three-phase expulsive motor task with an inspiratory phase, a compressive phase against a closed glottis, and an expiratory airflow phase (Fontana and Widdicombe, 2007). Typical cough results in two or more events, often referred to as cough “epochs” or “bouts.”
Global Physiology and Pathophysiology of Cough: Part 1: Cough Phenomenology – CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report
2021, ChestCitation Excerpt :Patients with spontaneous cough often complain of these as coughing fits, which are perceived as contributing to the severity of cough.4,6 Although these bouts are accepted as a series of expulsive efforts, whether each bout must originate from separate breaths is uncertain, and a variety of definitions have been used in the literature.7 Studies involving acoustic cough counting have defined bouts as continuous periods of coughing with less than 2-s pauses.8,9
Methods of Cough Assessment
2019, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In PracticeCitation Excerpt :There are relatively limited published experiences with other devices,82 some of which have subsequently been shown to have limited use.91 Although a cough may be thought of as a single 3-phase event, in practice multiple coughs commonly occur together in quick succession.3,99 Such series of cough events, labeled epochs, peals, or bouts, are defined as closely clustered explosive cough phases separated by pauses of 2 seconds or less.80,99,100
Identifying unique spectral fingerprints in cough sounds for diagnosing respiratory ailments
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