Abstract:

Objective To analyze the determination rates of inhalant allergen in patients with chronic cough,and to provide a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic cough. Methods A total of 460 patients with chronic cough were classified into groups with cough variant asthma （CVA）,eosinophil （EOS）bronchitis （EB）,upper airway cough syndrome （UACS）,gastroesophageal reflux-induced chronic cough （GERC）and other causes,according to EOS count,induced sputum examination,bronchial provocation test and clinical symptoms. Imprinting method was used to determine specific IgE antibody for inhalant allergen. Totally,120 healthy subjects were enrolled as healthy control group. Results In CVA and EB groups,the determination rates of inhalant allergen increased. Compared with other groups and healthy control group,there was statistical significance （P<0.05）. Among the tested allergens,the top 5 positive rates were for house dust mites/dust mites（71.28%）,cockroaches（25.24%）,dog epithelia（15.35%）,house dust（13.86%）and cat hair（10.89%）. Conclusions In chronic cough patients with increasing EOS count and induced sputum examination,inhalant allergens are main causes for pathogenesis. Dust mites is a dominant inhalant allergen.

Key words: Inhalant allergen, Chronic cough, Diagnosis