I recently updated my lecture on cough, given to third-year medical students and residents. It presents an algorithm I developed based on the omnibus supplement published in the journal Chest and other sources. Here is a quick summary of key points that are often missed by primary care physicians…
- Acute cough is largely due to viral infections and therefore antibiotics are NOT indicated.
- There is growing evidence that first generation antihistamines are the drugs of choice for undifferentiated acute cough.
- Post-infectious cough is the most common etiology for cough lasting between 3-8 weeks.
- Secondary causes of cough (reactive airways, GERD, post-nasal drip) should be considered based on symptoms and time course.
- In areas of high TB prevalence consider testing for active disease in any patient with a cough lasting more than two weeks (WHO recommendation).
I concise version of the lecture is available as a podcast.
The lecture handout is available in PDF format.
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