Cough is less common and less severe in systemic sclerosis‐associated interstitial lung disease compared to other fibrotic interstitial lung diseases

ABSTRACT Background and objective The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and characteristics of cough in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and systemic sclerosis‐associated interstitial lung disease (SSc‐ILD). Methods Cough severity was measured in consecutive patients with IPF (n = 77), HP (n = 32) and SSc‐ILD (n = 67) using a 10‐cm visual analogue scale (VAS). Dyspnoea and quality of life were measured using established questionnaires. Cough severity was compared across ILD subtypes and predictors of cough severity were determined using multivariate analysis. Results Cough was more common in IPF and chronic HP compared to SSc‐ILD (87% and 83% vs 68%, P = 0.02). The median (interquartile range) VAS score was 39 (17–65) in the IPF cohort, 29 (11–48) in HP and 18 (0–33) in SSc‐ILD (P