“The barking girl”: A case report of psychogenic cough in a child with a review of literature

Abstract

A 9-year-old girl presented with 2-month history of continuous coughing; despite detailed evaluation, no organic cause was found. Considering the provisional diagnosis of a psychogenic cough, she was advised for psychiatry consultation. After a psychological assessment, she was found to have comorbid anxiety (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders score- 25) along with punitive parenting and sibling rivalry issues. She was initially treated with parental psychoeducation, play therapy, and behavior therapy. Since she did not show expected progress with the treatment, low-dose escitalopram was started along with the ongoing therapy, considering her anxiety. There was a significant improvement in her symptoms in 1-month follow-up. She maintained improvement during further follow-ups. This case illustrates the need to identify and treat comorbid psychiatric issues in the management of a psychogenic cough.

Keywords

• Anxiety disorder
• children
• management
• psychogenic cough
• punitive parenting
• sibling rivalry