II. Definitions
- Upper Airway Cough Syndrome (previously Postnasal Drip Syndrome)
- Chronic Cough due to upper airway cause (often, but not always, due to postnasal drainage)
III. Epidemiology
- Most common cause of Chronic Cough in non-smoking adults with intact Immunity and normal Chest XRay
IV. Pathophysiology
- Cough syndrome associated with upper airway Hypersensitivity to triggers (e.g. postnasal drainage)
V. Causes
- Chronic Nonallergic Rhinitis (most common)
- Chronic Allergic Rhinitis
- Chronic Rhinosinusitis
VI. Differential Diagnosis
VII. Signs
- Posterior pharynx drainage or mucus
- Throat clearing
- Nasal Discharge
- Nasal Congestion
- Rhinorrhea
- Oropharyngeal mucosa with cobblestone appearance
VIII. Imaging
- Consider Sinus XRay or Sinus CT if persistent symptoms refractory to treatment
IX. Management
-
General
- Avoid allergens
- See Chronic Cough
- Treat specific causes
- Trial on empiric therapy
- See Rhinitis for a full protocol
- Consider oral Antihistamine
- Consider Intranasal Steroid
- Consider intranasal Atrovent
X. References
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Related Studies
| Concepts | Disease or Syndrome (T047) |
| English | Upper-airway cough syndrome |
| Dutch | bovenste luchtweg hoestsyndroom |
| Spanish | Síndrome de tos de las vías respiratorias superiores |
| Portuguese | Síndrome de tosse das vias respiratórias superiores |
| Italian | Sindrome delle vie aeree superiori con tosse |
| German | Hustensyndrom der oberen Atemwege |
| French | Syndrome de toux des voies aériennes supérieures |
| Japanese | 上気道咳症候群, ｼﾞｮｳｷﾄﾞｳｾｷｼｮｳｺｳｸﾞﾝ |
| Czech | Syndrom kašle z horních cest dýchacích |
| Hungarian | Felső-légúti köhögés syndroma |
