Asthma Test Good to Diagnose Chronic Cough

U.S. Mayo Clinic researchers said Wednesday an asthma test is a cheap way to tell if inhaled corticosteroids will help a chronic cough.

The diagnostic asthma test is known as the exhaled nitric oxide test, said the Mayo team.

We’re thinking this could be a significant development in the field of chronic cough, says Peter Hahn, Mayo Clinic pulmonologist and lead study investigator. It could drastically change what we do for patients with chronic cough and also the guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of chronic cough.

He added that the nitric oxide test is very accurate but underused and could be used upfront on all patients complaining of chronic cough, thereby saving time and costs in running other tests. It helps us get to the treatment and bring relief to the patient in the least invasive, fastest way possible, Hahn said.

Details of the finding will be presented in an abstract at the European Respiratory Society Meeting in Munich, Germany, Sept. 6.