Etiologic identification of chronic cough by bronchofibroscopy in children

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To study the value of bronchofibroscopy in the etiologic identification of chronic cough in children.METHODS: Under local anesthesia of lidocaine, bronchofibroscopy was performed in 118 children with chronic cough of unknown origin (73 males and 45 females). Their ages ranged from 3 months to 13 years. RESULTS: The cause of chronic cough was identified in 115 cases. The most common cause was respiratory infection (n=39)，followed by bronchial foreign bodies （n=19）, upper airway cough syndrome (n=17), bronchial asthma or cough variant asthma (n=17）, bronchomalacia (n=7), bronchial congenital malformation (n=5), primary ciliary dyskinesia (n=3), gastro-esophageal reflux (n=3), bronchial tumor (n=2), bronchial tuberculosis (n=1), pulmonary fibrosis (n=1) and idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (n=1). CONCLUSIONS: Bronchofibroscopy is useful in the etiologic identification of chronic cough in children.