New cough science publications vetted and collected in one place
Key Takeaway: This study, co-authored by Hyfe, analyzed data from 97 persistent coughers using Hyfe’s consumer smartphone app to assess their ‘Overall Predictability’, i.e. the ability of one day of cough-monitoring to predict other days. For one-third of coughers, Overall Predictability was < 60%. The study also found a positive correlation between cough rates and higher variability.
Why It Matters: The incumbent method of measuring cough in clinical trials uses 24h snapshots of data, and this study suggests that 24h (one day) is not sufficient to assess overall cough trends. If repeated in other studies, these results support the necessity for continuous monitoring over many days.
Key Takeaway: For patients accessing primary or urgent care with chief complaint of cough, the mean duration of cough was 16.4 days. For those with no infection detected, the mean duration was 18.4 days. The duration and severity of cough did not vary greatly by pathogen or type of infection, and the cough tended to be self-limiting.
Why It Matters: The study of 719 patients (of which 443 were followed up until symptoms resolved) suggests that higher patient awareness of the duration and self-limiting nature of virus-related coughs, may help reduce patient requests for antibiotics. It also suggests that a narrow focus on detecting specific respiratory pathogens in outpatients using clinical PCR panels is unlikely to be of much benefit.
Key Takeaways: This study within the UK’s NHS, showed that mean total cost over the 5 years pre-diagnosis was 3x higher for patients diagnosed with RCC/UCC than for a control group matched for age, gender and smoking history.
Why it matters: RCC/UCC typically have a long, time-consuming route to diagnosis, and this study highlights the increased burden on the healthcare system that this causes.
Plus…
We’re bringing a different type of fun to Cough Science News:
Every Movie Cough
Discover the world’s most comprehensive collection of cinematic coughs and sneezes. Whether it's background coughs, Oscar-winning coughs, or coughs from horror, fantasy, and romance films, you’ll find it all here!
And don’t miss our favorite feature: Name That Cough—can you guess where the cough comes from? Visit Every Movie Cough and test your skills!
8th Annual IPF Summit - hosted in Boston, academics, clinicians and drug-developers working in pulmonary fibrosis will be gathering to discuss recent progress (and failures), and emerging science. With cough becoming an increasingly well-understood biomarker in IPF, Hyfe’s CMO Peter Small is looking forward to connecting with the community.
European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress - Hyfe will join global respiratory experts in Vienna for 5 jam-packed days. Hyfe is presenting our validation results; insights from analyzing cough variability among persistent coughers; cough monitoring in tracking bronchiectasis treatment response; and the minimal impact of environmental coughs to someone being monitored with Hyfe’s CoughMonitor smartwatch.
