Topical issues of differential diagnosis and treatment of cough during the pandemic

Elena N. Popova

For citation:

Abstract

A cough is observed by medical practitioners of various specialties, and is among the most common symptoms of the broad range of disorders. The cause of coughing remains unclear in more than half of adults, who visit physicians with complaints of respiratory symptoms. The paper reports the principles of the cough differential diagnosis and treatment in patients with respiratory disorders, including during the pandemic; the cough features, characteristic of pulmonary fibrosis and COVID-19, are discussed. The clinical case of the 47-year-old patient, illustrating the need to use CT not only at onset, during the acute period of the disease, but also during the recovery period in patients with a lingering cough, is discussed as an example of the cough differential diagnosis.

Key words: COVID-19, cough, post-COVID syndrome, pulmonary fibrosis, differential diagnosis of cough.

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For citation:Popova E.N., Ponomareva L.A., Bondarenko I.B. Topical issues of differential diagnosis and treatment of cough during the pandemic. Clinical review for general practice. 2021; 8: 20–26. DOI: 10.47407/kr2021.2.8.00094

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Clinical review for general practice