Age-related aspects of differential diagnosis of acute cough in children and adults

Abstract

Cough is one of the most common causes of seeking the primary medical care, especially during the autumn and the spring. This article is a review of literature  aimed at differential diagnosis of possible causes of acute cough in children and  adults. Given a vast majority of diseases associated with cough, differential diagnosis  have to consider several issues. The key issue is cough duration and possible  anatomical location of the pathological changes. An algorithm of differential diagnosis  of acute cough in children and adults and description of most common diseases  associated with acute cough are given in the review. Further diagnostic work-up  should be driven by the duration of cough as soon as the acute cough could be first  manifestation of a chronic disease.