Persistent cough Assessment Questionnaire

Questions Your Doctor May Ask - and Why!

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques to assess the symptom: Persistent cough. These will include a physical examination and possibly diagnostic tests. (Note: A physical exam is always done, diagnostic tests may or may not be performed depending on the suspected condition) Your doctor will ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to openly share any pertinent information to help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis.

It is also very important to bring an up-to-date list of all of your all medical conditions, medications including dosages, and names of numbers of any specialist you see.

Create your printable checklist by answering questions that your doctor may ask below:

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How long have you had the cough?
Why: to establish if truly chronic or persistent i.e. cough that has been present and not improving for more than 4 weeks.
How would you describe the cough?
Why: e.g. paroxysmal with whoops suggest whooping cough; painful cough may suggest left ventricular heart failure; weak cough may suggest lung cancer; bovine (no power to cough) suggests vocal cord paralysis.
What time of the day is the cough worse?
Why: e.g. cough at night may suggest asthma, left ventricular failure, postnasal drip, chronic bronchitis, whooping cough; cough on waking may suggest bronchiectasis, chronic bronchitis or gastro-esophageal reflux.
Is the cough related to meals?
Why: e.g. esophageal diverticulum, tracheo-esophageal fistula.
Past medical history?
Why: recurrent lung infections from childhood may suggest cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis.
Medications?
Why: e.g. ACE inhibitor blood pressure medications are well known to cause a cough.
Family history?
Why: e.g. asthma; cystic fibrosis; emphysema ( alpha 1- antitrypsin deficiency);anyone in the family had tuberculosis or a persistent cough.
Cigarette smoking
Why: past and present? - increases the risk of emphysema, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, larynx cancer.
Are you exposed to any smoke or fumes?
Occupational history?
Why: e.g. exposure to asbestos; miners exposure to coal dust or silica; aircraft makers and shipbuilders exposure to berylliosis and asbestosis; farmers exposure to bacteria in hay and causing "farmer's lung"; pigeon breeders exposed to protein from bird feathers and excreta causing "bird fancier's lung".
Sputum production?
Why: If there is sputum production, describe it? - e.g. copious amounts with an offensive smell suggests bronchiectasis; yellow-green thick and sticky may suggest asthma; profuse and watery may suggest lung cancer; red-currant jelly may suggest lung cancer; pink and frothy may suggest left ventricular failure with pulmonary edema.
Blood in sputum?
Why: may suggest chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, lung cancer, lung metastasis, foreign body, left ventricular failure and mitral stenosis.
Wheeze?
Why: usually suggests asthma but must also consider chronic bronchitis, emphysema, foreign body, lung cancer, congestive heart failure.
If you do have a wheeze, have you had previous attacks of wheezing, hay fever or eczema in the past?
Why: more likely to suggest asthma as a cause of chronic cough.
Shortness of breath?
Why: may suggest asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, left ventricular failure, tuberculosis, emphysema and lung cancer.
Burning sensation in throat or chest when you cough?
Why: may suggest gastro-esophageal reflux as a cause of chronic cough.
Weight loss?
Why: may suggest lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis.
Swelling of the legs?
Why: may suggest left ventricular heart failure.
Stridor?
Why: may suggest whooping cough, foreign body, cancer of the larynx, cancer of the trachea.
Fever?
Why: may suggest tuberculosis, lung abscess, lung cancer.

Conditions listing medical symptoms: Persistent cough:

The following list of conditions have 'Persistent cough' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

Select from the following alphabetical view of conditions which include a symptom of Persistent cough or choose View All.

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Conditions listing medical complications: Persistent cough:

The following list of medical conditions have 'Persistent cough' or similar listed as a medical complication in our database.

» Next page: Types of Persistent cough

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