Is treatment for chronic cough associated with gastro-oesophageal reflux evidence based?
• Ms. Natasha Choudhury, SpR ENT • Mr. Saumabha Mandal Southend General Hospital Dear Editor, We read the article by Chang et al with great interest(1). Chronic cough is a common symptom encountered in ENT. It is frequently attributed to some degree of underlying gastro-oesophageal reflux, particularly in those patients who do not have any underlying laryngeal pathology. Empirical medical treatment for this with acid suppressing medication is commonly employed. However, patients’ response to such empirical treatment is variable(2) and the evidence supporting the recommended length of treatment and its efficacy is limited(3). Chang et al’s publication claims to objectively demonstrate the efficacy of treatment for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease on chronic cough in adults and children with no primary lung disease(1). However, we feel that there are a number of limitations of this review. The authors have performed a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of gastro- oesophageal
