Therapeutic Targets for the Treatment of Chronic Cough

Chronic cough, defined in adults as one lasting longer than 8 weeks, is among the commonest clinical problems encountered by doctors both in general practice and in hospital. It can exist as a distinct clinical problem or as a prominent and troublesome symptom for patients with common pulmonary conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Chronic cough impacts considerably on patients’ daily-life activities and many patients are left frustrated by what they see as a complete lack of awareness among their doctors as how to treat their condition. Some of this arises from limited levels of physician knowledge about managing cough as a clinical problem but also because there are no very effective treatments that specifically target cough. In this article, we review the current clinical thinking regarding cough and the treatments that are currently used and those undergoing clinical development.