LAUSR

Upper airway cough syndrome (UACS), described as chronic cough associated with allergic and non-allergic rhinitis (AR and NAR) or chronic rhinosinusitis, is one of the major causes of chronic cough. The aim of the study is to characterize a cohort of UACS patients with special attention to differences between patients with AR and NAR. A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of patients with UACS, diagnosed in 2015 and 2016, was performed. The comparison between patients with AR and NAR was accomplished using Mann-Whitney U or chi square tests. There were 43 patients diagnosed with UACS, of these 20 (46%) had AR and 23 (54%) NAR (the median age was 56 years, 65% women). The median duration of cough was 78 months, median cough severity - 62 mm measured by VAS, median Leicester Cough Questionnaire score - 11. Never-smokers comprised 79% of the investigated group. Sinus CT scan was performed in 36 cases (84%) and the most frequent abnormalities were: nasal septum deviation 12/36 (33%), sinus mucosal thickening > 3mm 11/36 (31%), nasal turbinates hypertrophy 9/36 (25%) and polyps 9/36 (25%). We found no differences between patients with AR and NAR in age, gender, duration and severity of cough, BMI, blood eosinophil count, serum total IgE and FeNO. Gastroesophageal reflux disease, but not asthma, coexisted more frequently with AR than with NAR (p=0.02). A history of ex-smoking was more frequent in patients with NAR (p=0.04). Patients with AR and NAR did not differ in terms of abnormalities found in sinus CT scans. AR is the underlying disease in almost one half of patients with UACS. The clinical characteristics of UACS patients due to AR and NAR are similar with only minor differences between these two groups.