Research

Obstructive sleep apnoea: a cause of chronic cough

Surinder S Birring³ , Alvin J Ing¹ , Kevin Chan¹ , Gavina Cossa¹ , Sergio Matos² , Michael DL Morgan² and Ian D Pavord²

¹  Respiratory Investigation Unit, Concord Hospital, Sydney, Australia

²  Institute for Lung Health, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, UK

³  Department of Respiratory Medicine, King's College Hospital, London, UK

author email corresponding author email

Cough 2007, 3:7doi:10.1186/1745-9974-3-7

Published:	2 July 2007

Abstract

Chronic cough is a common reason for presentation to both general practice and respiratory clinics. In up to 25% of cases, the cause remains unclear after extensive investigations. We report 4 patients presenting with an isolated chronic cough who were subsequently found to have obstructive sleep apnoea. The cough improved rapidly with nocturnal continuous positive airway pressure therapy. Further studies are required to investigate the prevalence of coexistence of these common conditions.