Cough in children: the most common problem in pediatrics

Abstract

Cough is a common problem in childhood, which leads to frequent paediatrician visits, affects the quality of life, and causes material losses to the family and society. In pediatric practice, cough is most often associated with acute respiratory infections, which can develop in children up to 5–8 times a year. 50–70% of children under 1 year old and 30–60% of school age children visit pediatricians with this problem. Examination of patients with cough shows that the most common causes of recurrent cough may include bronchial asthma, lingering bacterial bronchitis, chronic ENT diseases, gastroesophageal reflux, as well as bronchial reactivity after respiratory syncytial, rhinovirus or pertussis infections. Mucociliary clearance in children may decrease under the influence of external factors, which contributes to the development of infections. The effectiveness of cough in children, especially young children, depends on the severity of the cough reflex, bronchial patency, viscosity of bronchial secretion. The choice of therapy to treat cough should take into account the age and etiology of the cough. The inappropriate antibiotic therapy for prolonged cough increases the risk of developing antibiotic resistance. Due to potential side effect in the form of respiratory depression and opioid toxicity, codeine-containing drugs are not recommended for use in children under 12 years of age. An alternative to cough drugs is herbal medicines with compound effect: anti-inflammatory, bronchodilator, expectorant and mucolytic.

Keywords

• acute cough
• chronic cough
• mucociliary clearance
• children
• phytoterapy