Summary
Objectives
Chronic cough is a complaint of up to 46% of patients referred to specialist clinics.
Patients with cough often report hoarseness at the time of the cough diagnosis. When
the cough fails to resolve with standard medications, referrals to other specialists
including otolaryngologists are made. This is the first study to report the specific
diagnosis and length of time it took to obtain a specific voice disorder diagnosis
in patients with chronic cough.
Study Design
Case Series
Methods
The charts of 105 patients referred to the Loma Linda Voice and Swallowing Center
were reviewed. The first complaint of cough and/or hoarseness and the specific voice
disorder diagnosis following otolaryngologic evaluation were identified. Voice disorders
were divided into neurogenic or other/functional disorders and common comorbidities
were identified. Statistical analysis between diagnostic groups, gender, and age were
obtained.
Results
The specific voice disorders in the cohort were identified. There was a high prevalence
of neurogenic voice disorders (n = 85, 81%). There were significant relationships between chronic cough and the two
most common neurogenic voice disorders, vocal fold paresis and vocal fold atrophy.
The average length of time between complaint of hoarseness and the specific voice
disorder diagnosis was 32.3 months. Most patients (86%) complained of voice problems
after diagnosis of chronic cough. A significant association was found in prevalence
of asthma (OR = 4.52, P = 0.02) and dyspnea (OR = 4.24, P = 0.02) in the cohort who presented first with voice complaints and later developed
chronic cough.
Conclusions
There is a high incidence of neurogenic voice disorders accompanying patients with
chronic cough. Understanding the relationship between chronic cough and hoarseness
provides the clinician with specific diagnostic information in the treatment of both
disorders.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 08, 2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
The Diagnosis and Time of Onset of Voice Disorders in Patients with Chronic Cough
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
