Frequency of cough triggers associated with worse quality of life in patients with chronic cough

<bold>Background:</bold> Patients with chronic cough (CC) often describe coughing to low levels of thermal, mechanical, and chemical stimulation. The underlying mechanism is thought to be due to cough hypersensitivity syndrome. It is unclear if the number of triggers is related to greater burden on cough quality of life (QoL) and severity. <bold>Objective:</bold> To evaluate the relationship between cough triggers and quality of life. <bold>Methods:</bold> This was a prospective observational single center cohort study. Treatments were based on the most recent ERS cough guideline including pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options. Cough assessments included measuring Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), cough severity visual analogue scale (VAS 0-100mm) before and after treatment. Patients were asked if their cough was triggered by a common list of triggers. Total number of triggers were added. <bold>Results:</bold> We recruited 69 patients with CC (49 females; mean (S.D) age, 55.7±14.5 yrs, median cough duration 7 yrs). Patients reported mean (S.D) total cough triggers 8.88 (4.05). There was in inverse correlation between total cough triggers and LCQ (R= -0.38, p<0.001) (Fig 1A) but not cough severity VAS, r=0.17, p=0.14, Fig 1B. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> In patients with CC, greater number of cough triggers was associated with lower cough QoL. Whether the number of cough triggers may be used as a predictive tool will be evaluated. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA331/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>