A study of clinical features of cough variant asthma

Patients with cough variant asthma (CVA) and classic asthma are frequently among subjects who present at clinics complaining of a chronic persistent c ough. To reveal the features of CVA, we examined the differences in the cli nical appearance between CVA and classic asthma. Ten CVA subjects and 11 cl assic asthmatics were enrolled in the study; they were recruited among pati ents who presented at the National Minamiokayama Hospital complaining of a chronic cough. The number of eosinophils in peripheral blood was 256 +/- 45 .8/mul in CVA and 400 +/- 123/mu1 in classic asthma. Eosinophils represente d 67% of the cells of sputum in CVA and 82% in classic asthma. Bronchial re sponsiveness to methacholine was Dmin 1.37 +/- 0.56 U in CVA and 0.71 +/- 0 .46 U in classic asthma. There was no significant difference in these three parameters. There was only a significant difference in (V) over dot 25 bet ween CVA and classic asthma, 80.0 +/- 6.9 and 52.2 +/- 10.0%, respectively. Eosinophil inflammation was almost the same in both CVA and classic asthma . Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.