Chronic Cough in Children: What to Do and When to Refer?

Cough is one of the leading causes for children and their families to seek medical advice, and it may be difficult for clinicians to determine the underlying cause. Cough is a pulmonary defence mechanism and may be acute, recurrent or defined as chronic if lasting beyond 4 weeks. Further differentiating a chronic cough into wet or dry may aid clinicians in establishing the possible cause. This article provides a framework for the assessment of chronic cough in children, signposts to the latest guidelines, explains when and how to further investigate chronic cases and considers when to refer to a tertiary respiratory service.