Fundoplication in chronic intractable cough.

Background: Airway reflux is a common cause of chronic cough and this is often refractory to medical therapy. Surgery in the form of Nissen fundoplication has been highly successful in the treatment of the classic reflux symptoms of heartburn and dyspepsia. There is a paucity of data regarding response to fundoplication in patients presenting with chronic cough.

Airway reflux, cough and respiratory disease.

It is increasingly accepted that the effects of gastro-oesophageal reflux are not limited to the gastrointestinal tract. The adjacent respiratory structures are also at risk from material ejected from the proximal oesophagus as a result of the failure of anatomical and physiological barriers. There is evidence of the influence of reflux on several respiratory and otorhinological conditions and although in many cases the precise mechanism has yet to be elucidated, the association alone opens potential novel avenues of therapy to clinicians struggling to treat patients with apparently intractable respiratory complaints.

Chronic cough and esomeprazole: a double-blind placebo-controlled parallel study.

Background And Objective: Gastro-oesophageal reflux has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic cough. Guidelines on management suggest a therapeutic trial of anti-reflux medication. Esomeprazole is a proton pump inhibitor licensed for the long-term treatment of acid reflux in adults and we compared the effects of esomeprazole and placebo on patients with chronic cough.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux, eosinophilic airway inflammation and chronic cough.

Background And Objective: Patients with eosinophilic airway inflammation (EAI) often show a therapeutic response to corticosteroids. Non-invasive methods of diagnosing EAI are potentially useful in guiding therapy, particularly in conditions such as chronic cough, for which corticosteroids may not be the first-line treatment.

Methods: The value of exhaled nitric oxide (ENO) in the diagnosis of EAI was prospectively investigated in a cohort of 116 patients with chronic cough of varying aetiology.

Treatment of cystic fibrosis associated cutaneous vasculitis with chloroquine.

Vasculitis is a well recognised complication of Cystic Fibrosis. Corticosteroids are the mainstay of treatment but some cases can be resistant and may require additional disease modifying agents. We describe a case of steroid resistant cutaneous vasculitis which was successfully treated with chloroquine in addition to corticosteroids and a subsequent relapse with chloroquine alone.