Persistent Cough as a Predictor of Poor Responsiveness in Asthma Patients

Objectives/Hypothesis The aim of this study is to establish a correlation between persistent cough (PC) and asthma diagnosis and its severity. We hypothesize that patients with past or current diagnosis of PC may have more severe asthma diagnosis and thus poor responsiveness to treatment. Study Design Retrospective chart review. Methods A retrospective review was performed on 699 charts that had a positive immunoglobulin E (IgE) allergy blood test between 2014 and 2018, and a positive asthma diagnosis. Patient demographics and asthma severity parameters such as number of clinic and emergency department (ED) visits, asthma treatment, and number of medications were recorded, as well as PC diagnosis. Logistic regressions were used to analyze the likelihood of severe asthma diagnosis in patients with PC. Results A total of 55% of patients were treated with oral corticosteroids in the PC group, compared to 41% in those without (P