Chronic cough diagnosis and treatment among family physicians

Context: Cough is one of the most common presenting problems for primary care patients. The familiarity of primary care clinicians with chronic cough guidelines and the extent to which these guidelines translate into everyday practice has received little attention.

Objective: To characterize current perceptions, beliefs, and practices among primary care clinicians to guide identification of potentially impactful strategies to optimize patient care related to treatment of chronic cough in adults.

Study Design: Cross-sectional survey of family medicine physicians, exploring current perceptions, beliefs, and practices among primary care clinicians related to chronic cough management in adults. 5,000 AAFP members were contacted via email and mail, with two email reminders. Respondents could complete the survey via paper or online. 588 surveys were returned, yielding a response rate of 11.8%. Respondents were provided a $10 gift card for completing surveys.

Dataset: Survey data from mail and online survey responses.

Population Studied: Family physicians residing in the USA with valid email addresses. Vermont residents were excluded due to regulations related to survey incentive payment.

Intervention/Instrument: Survey regarding diagnosis, treatment, attitudes, and knowledge regarding chronic cough management.

Outcome Measures: Self-reported numeric ratings and responses related to knowledge, beliefs, current practices, and other elements of the survey.

Results: About half of respondents defined chronic cough in a manner consistent with ACCP chronic cough guidelines. Other definitions were varied. Respondents report trying to rule out most common causes of chronic cough themselves before they refer. Respondents indicated a desire for more resources to help treat chronic cough, including education.

Conclusions: Family physicians see chronic cough as a complicated issue that can sometimes be treated entirely in a primary care setting, yet they indicate challenges in successfully treating it. They desire more education and tools to help them improve outcomes.