Current opinion in allergy and clinical immunology
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Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol · Feb 2007
ReviewA review of voice and upper airway function in chronic cough and paradoxical vocal cord movement.
Chronic cough and paradoxical vocal fold movement (PVFM) are perplexing conditions. This paper reviews the recent literature in relation to the nature of PVFM and chronic cough and the management of symptoms associated with these disorders. ⋯ Chronic cough and PVFM manifest in a range of clinically significant voice and upper airway symptoms. The anatomic diagnostic protocol used in the management of chronic cough could be expanded to include PVFM as a potential cause of cough, and speech pathology intervention as treatment for chronic cough.
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Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol · Feb 2007
ReviewUse of diagnostic algorithms and new technologies to study the incidence and prevalence of viral upper respiratory tract infections and their complications in high risk populations.
Most studies on the natural history of viral upper respiratory tract infections and their complications rely for ascertainment on self-assessed cold/flu illness or the identification of presumed complications. The criteria for cold/flu definition, however, are variable within and between individuals and illness is not prerequisite for a viral upper respiratory tract infection. These factors bias estimates of the incidence and prevalence of viral upper respiratory tract infections and their complications. Here we review new methodologies that can be adapted for use in future studies to refine those estimates. ⋯ The methodologies and sampling strategies that we describe hold promise for better characterizing the incidence of complications for symptomatic and asymptomatic expressions of a viral upper respiratory tract infection caused by specific viruses. These data can then be used to estimate the efficacy and efficiency in a specified target population of prophylactic or intercurrent treatments to prevent the complications.