Gastro-oesophageal reflux events: just another trigger in chronic cough?

GORD is considered a common cause of chronic cough, either alone or in association with nasal disease and/or asthma.1 This, along with the fact that there are currently no specific therapies approved for the treatment of chronic cough, has led to extensive use of acid suppressants, such that one US study in patients with extraoesophageal manifestations of GORD, of which 50% had cough, estimated costs to be four to five times those associated with their use in typical GORD.2 Despite this widespread use, a significant proportion of patients with chronic cough thought to be due to GORD remain refractory to acid suppression. Indeed, multiple studies and meta-analyses have failed to document a therapeutic benefit of acid suppression in chronic cough.3

A growing number of studies suggest that in 30%–48% of patients, coughing episodes seem to be temporally linked to reflux events, irrespective of...