ABSTRACT
The pathophysiology, features, and treatment of cough are dealt with in detail in Chap. 15. Collecting information about cough is a key element in the respiratory history, as summa rized in Table 2. Although objective tests to measure cough have been developed for research studies, no means to measure its intensity or frequency are available for clinical use; thus the patient’s description is the only information available. A spouse or friend may have observed cough frequency and can provide additional information. As with dyspnea, the timing of the onset of cough should be sought, and whether it began abruptly or insidiously. The time of day that coughing occurs should be explored, since it may be a clue to a nocturnal respiratory disorder (see above). Cough upon awakening in the morn ing is typical of chronic bronchitis or bronchiectasis, as the patient “ clears out’’ from his or her chest the secretions that have accumulated overnight. Cough associated with chronic interstitial lung disease may occur throughout the day. It is sometimes important to distin guish whether cough is the only or dominant symptom of a respiratory disorder or whether it is just one of many problems in a symptom complex.
