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Chronic Cough is the 20th volume of the Evidence-based Clinical Chinese Medicine series. It provides a multi-faceted'whole evidence'analysis of the management of chronic cough, including cough variant asthma, upper airways cough syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disease in Chinese medicine. Evidence from the classical Chinese medicine literature, contemporary clinical literature, the outcomes of clinical trials and experimental studies are reviewed, analysed and synthesised. The data from all these sources are condensed to provide evidence-based summaries and identity implications for the clinical practice of Chinese medicine and for future research. This book can inform clinicians and students in the fields of integrative medicine and Chinese medicine regarding contemporary practice and the current evidence base for a range of Chinese medicine therapies used in the management of chronic cough, including herbal formulas and acupuncture treatments, in order to assist clinicians in making evidence-based decisions in patient care.Currently, Chinese medicine practitioners who develop a special interest in a particular health condition, such as chronic cough need to consult a diversity of resources to expand their knowledge. Such sources typically included specialty books and journal articles sourced from biomedical databases published in Chinese and English. However, not all practitioners have access to such sources to obtain information on the evidence-based management of chronic cough. By providing all this information in one handy, easy to use reference, this book allows practitioners to focus on providing high quality health care, with the knowledge it is based on the best available evidence.

The aim of this book is to present articles that are stimulating to read and inform readers with the most up-to-date clinical research. The articles incorporate the latest developments on a variety of topics in pulmonary medicine, therapy, and related mutlisystem disorders with varied manifestations. Emphasis is given to air quality and lung health, therapeutic management of airway reactivity and cough sensitivity linked to mucous clearance ability, ventilatory and cellular effects of hypoxia, influenza epidemics and persistently dismal vaccination coverage rate, disorders of mixed provenance and genetic background affecting lung parenchyma such as cystic fibrosis or Langerhans cell histiocytosis, and others. New diagnostic strategies and therapeutic management will hopefully serve to enhance the way patient care is delivered and thus clinical outcomes. Being a blend of medical research and practice the book addresses the needs of respiratory scientists and physicians, and allied health professionals.

The last decade or so has seen remarkable advances in our knowledge of cough. This applies especially to its basic mechanisms: the types of airway sensors, the phar- cological receptors on their membranes, the brainstem organization of the ‘cough centre', and the involvement of the cerebral cortex in the sensations and the vol- tary control of cough. With the exception of the last of these, nearly all the studies have been on experimental animals rather than humans, for obvious reasons. One group of experimental studies has particular relevance to human patients, and that is the demonstration of the sensitization of cough pathways both in the periphery and in the brainstem. Similar sensitizations have been shown for patients with chronic cough or who have been exposed to pollutants, and it is reasonable to suppose that this is the basis of their cough and that the underlying mechanisms are generally similar in humans and other species. Important advances are also being made in clinical cough research. For the three main causes of clinical cough, asthma, post-nasal drip syndrome, and gast- oesophageal re?ux disease, we are beginning to understand the pathological processes involved. There remains a diagnostically obdurate group of idiopathic chronic coughers, but even for them approaches are being devised to clarify und- lying mechanisms and to establish diagnoses. Perhaps surprisingly, the?eld in which there has been the least spectacular - vance is the therapy of cough.

A comprehensive review of the scientific and clinical aspects of acute and chronic cough, this reference focuses on recent developments in our understanding of the molecular biology of putative cough receptors, the neural mechanisms involved in the afferent and efferent limbs, the central processing of the cough reflex, and peptides and other subst

Cough is the most familiar symptom of respiratory disease, and a problem which general practitioners must deal with on a daily basis. This timely volume draws together a wealth of recent research into the mechanisms, pharmacology and therapies for cough, and places these in clinical context. The text incorporates guidelines on the most common causes of cough, discusses treatments and pitfalls in management, summarizes current research on physiology, pharmacology and treatment of cough, and gives practical advice on diagnosis and management issues for the clinician. Cough: Causes, Mechanisms and Therapy is the most comprehensive, up-to-date account of the subject. It will update clinical and basic medical scientists, and promote future research. Readers are encouraged to implement the clinical implications of the discussion into routine practice. This volume will appeal to all those involved in the treatment of respiratory disease, particularly those in hospital respiratory units, and will also be of use to interested general practitioners.