Different Diagnosis for a Cough

Different Diagnosis for a Cough

The three various diagnostics for cough are:

History examination investigation

A thorough physical and careful history examination is the first step in the patient evaluation of a cough. This is arguably the most significant diagnosis. Through this diagnosis, the patient presents their account of the issue and gives crucial information to the practitioner. This is part of patient assessment and may be done with information gathering approaches like a nursing assessment or a single assessment process.

Clinical test

There are several baseline investigations that medical practitioners perform as well as sophisticated tests to determine a cough. They include:

Spirometric and peak expiratory chest measurements

Chest radiograph

Bronchoprovocation testing

Empirical treatment

This treatment is usually performed as a “diagnostic trial” for cough patients. Patients that report symptoms such as postnasal drip syndrome and gastro-oesophageal reflux should be offered this treatment..

Sputum examination

Sputum examination of the patient is essential in case the diagnosis remains unclear after conducting a methacholine inhalation test and simple clinical assessments.

Define each diagnosis with Evidence Base

Treatment Plan

Based on the SOPA Note, it is evident that the patient is suffering from acute cough. This type of cough lasts not more than three weeks- in this case, the cough has lasted for only a week. Among many patients, adequate control of subacute and acute cough is challenging to achieve, leading to loss of productivity, substantial morbidity, and decrease in quality of life. The treatment plan for this patient involves the following:

Therapeutic interventions to remove the underlying cause of cough.

Maintain an adequate fluid intake from the physiological point of view.

Abstention from smoking is essential since both passive and active smokers take long to recover from a cough.