Abstract

Cough is considered to be chronic if it lasts longer than 3 weeks. It is the fifth most common complaint in outpatient admissions. Between January 2000 and October 2002, the patients with a cough history of more than 3 weeks were included in this study. Patients with known previous lung diseases, smokers, and those having pathologic lung radiograph were excluded from the study. A total of 45 patients (12 males and 33 females) with a mean age of 40.6±17.2 years were included. The mean duration of cough was 62.1±103.2 weeks ranging from 3 weeks to 10 years. Postnasal drip syndrome (39%) was the most common cause of chronic cough followed by gastroesophageal reflux (23.4%) and asthma/eosinophilic bronchitis (21.8%). While chronic cough was found to be due to one condition in 64.4%, more than one condition was found in 35.6% of cases. Postnasal drip syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, asthma and eosinophilic bronchitis should be thought first in the etiology of patients admitting with the complaint of chronic cough. It should also be born in mind that more than one cause might participate in the etiology of chronic cough.