Don’t miss: Pertussis, Tuberculosis.
Viral upper respiratory infection
Upper airway cough syndrome (formerly, Postnasal drip)
Asthma
GERD; laryngopharyngeal reflux disease
Drugs: ACE inhibitor use, beta-blockers, amiodarone, etc.
Environmental triggers; Allergic rhinitis; nonallergic rhinitis
Chronic rhinosinusitis
Postinfectious, postviral cough; Postinfectious bronchospasm
Nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis
Tobacco use
Bronchiolitis
Bronchiectasis
COPD
Obstructive sleep apnea
Pulmonary embolus
Acute histoplasmosis
Interstitial lung disease
Cystic fibrosis
Heart failure
Mitral stenosis
Pertussis
Arteriovenous malformation
Cancer: Bronchogenic carcinoma; Lung tumor; Laryngeal tumor
Pneumonia (that is persistent)
Pneumonia (Chronic or recurrent aspiration)
Chronic interstitial lung disease
External or middle ear disease; Irritation of external auditory canal
Sarcoidosis
Tuberculosis
Psychogenic cough
Human immunodeficiency virus
Epiglottitis
Foreign body
Thinking about the differential diagnosis
A chronic cough is a cough lasting longer than 8 weeks in adults and 4 weeks in children.
The ddx may be divided into three main categories: Infectious pulmonary causes, non-infectious pulmonary causes, Nonpulmonary causes.
Bronchogenic carcinoma = cancer of the lung arising from the epithelium of the bronchus or bronchiole.
Further Reading
Lung India. 2015 Jan-Feb; 32(1): 44–49. Chronic dry cough: Diagnostic and management approaches. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4298918/
Allergy Asthma Proc. 2005 Sep-Oct;26(5):345-51. Differential diagnosis of chronic cough.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16450567
Int J Otolaryngol. 2012; 2012: 564852. Chronic Cough, Reflux, Postnasal Drip Syndrome, and the Otolaryngologist. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3332192/
Am Fam Physician. 2017 Nov 1;96(9):575-580. Chronic Cough: Evaluation and Management. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2017/1101/p575.html
Am Fam Physician. 2011 Oct 15;84(8):887-892. Evaluation of the Patient with Chronic Cough. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/1015/p887.html
Ther Adv Chronic Dis. 2013 Nov; 4(6): 287–301. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3807765/