Prognosis Symptoms, Quality of Life and Comorbidity Relationship with Cough in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Objective: Cough is one of the most frequent symptoms in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The aim of this study was to investigate whether there was any difference with respect to quality of life, depression, sleep disturbance and reflux symptoms between IPF patients with and without cough symptom. Study Design: Cross-sectional study Materials and Methods: Patients with IPF who were admitted to outpatient clinic were divided into two groups according to the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores as cough group and non- cough group. In each group, Leicester cough questionnaire, reflux questionnaire, Beck depression questionnaire, St George's quality of life questionnaire (SGRQ) and Sleep Quality index were evaluated to determine whether there were any differences between groups. Results: It was shown that the Leicester cough questionnaire score was lower in the cough group (86±24.9 vs 111±18.9) (p 0,02). Beck depression score revealed moderate level of depression in both groups (22±10.74 in cough group vs 18±11.86 in non-cough group) (p 0,4). SGRQ symptom score was significantly higher in the cough dominant group (p 0,04). Conclusion: It is found that presence of cough in patients with IPF negatively affected the quality of life and was associated with the sleep disorders and depression. Leicester cough questionnaire can be used to assess whether the cough symptom affects patients’ quality of life in routine clinical evaluation of patients with IPF. This evaluation is thought to improve quality of life and treatment compliance by increasing cough palliation in IPF patients.