Impact of Chronic Cough on Activities of Daily Living and Response to Acute High-intensity Exercise

Inclusion criteria

• Age >18 years
• Chronic cough as per European Respiratory Society definition (>8 weeks duration)
• High symptom burden (i.e., cough visual analogue scale >40 mm at pre-study screening)
• Chest radiograph or CT within 3 years of the screening visit with no abnormalities considered to contribute to chronic cough

Exclusion criteria

• Smokers or individuals who gave up smoking within 12 months
• Smoking history >20 pack-years
• Long-COVID or post-COVID syndrome (defined as symptoms lasting over 12-weeks in duration)
• Recent exacerbation of cough within 4 weeks of inclusion
• Respiratory tract infection within 4 weeks of inclusion
• Currently taking any of the following medications:

• ACE inhibitors and within 3 months of inclusion
• Antitussives (opioids, pregabalin, gabapentin, amitriptyline, nortriptyline, or over the-counter medications) within 2 weeks of inclusion
• Medical treatments for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), eosinophilic bronchitis or other cough related conditions, initiated or changed (i.e., not in a stable regimen) for 4 weeks prior to inclusion
• Medical history of asthma or exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), COPD, or chronic bronchitis in the judgement of the investigator
• Medical conditions/history or other circumstances which, in the judgement of the investigators, could increase the risk of adverse events or bias the study results