Cough differentials Flashcards
What is an acute cough?
A cough lasting less than 3 weeks, often due to viral URTIs, acute bronchitis, pneumonia, pneumothorax, or acute exacerbations of asthma, bronchiectasis, or COPD.
Management includes self-care treatments like stopping smoking, honey, and over-the-counter cough medicines. Oral antibiotics should be prescribed only if the patient is systemically very unwell or at high risk of complications.
What is a subacute cough?
A cough lasting 3-8 weeks, usually caused by post-infection coughing.
What is a chronic cough?
A cough lasting more than 8 weeks, often due to long-term smoking, ACE inhibitor use, asthma, GORD, eosinophilic bronchitis, or upper airway cough syndrome.
Management involves treating the underlying cause.
What are the characteristics of a productive/wet cough?
A cough that brings up mucus or phlegm.
What are the characteristics of a non-productive/dry cough?
A cough that doesn’t bring up mucus or phlegm, often described as making the throat feel tickly and scratchy.
What is a haemoptysis cough?
Coughing up blood or blood-colored mucus from the lungs, which can occur without coughing.
It may have a bright-red or rust color and frothy texture, associated with conditions like bronchitis or bronchiectasis.
What are some causes of haemoptysis? (BATTLECAMP)
Causes include bronchitis, bronchiectasis, aspergillosis infection, tumors, tuberculosis, lung abscess, emboli, coagulopathy, cystic fibrosis, autoimmune disorders, or alveolar hemorrhage, and mitral stenosis.
What is haematemesis cough?
Coughing up blood from the GI system, usually after vomiting. Vomit clearance can cause coughing which may expel blood.
It has a dark-red or brown color and a coffee-ground texture.
What is paroxysmal cough?
A violent and uncontrolled cough that is painful, tiring, and causes difficulty breathing.
What characterizes whooping cough?
A cough that sounds like a whoop, caused by the Pertussis infection from Bordetella pertussis.
What characterizes barking cough?
A cough that sounds like a seal bark, associated with croup (laryngitis and tracheitis).
What are initial investigations for cough?
Pulse oximetry, peak expiratory flow for suspected asthma, CRP and ESR for suspected pneumonia, spirometry and chest x-ray for chronic idiopathic cough, and emergency hospital admission for suspected PE, pneumothorax, or foreign body aspiration.
