The role of flexible bronchoscope in the evaluation of chronic cough with and without wheeze in children

Chronic cough in children is a challenging symptom for clinicians. So, we aimed in this study to evaluate the diagnostic role of flexible bronchoscope in differentiating between the underlying causes of chronic wet cough and chronic cough associated with wheeze.

This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted on children referred to Tanta University Hospitals and Ain-Shams University Hospitals between January 2021 and January 2023, presenting with a primary complaint of chronic cough lasting more than 4 weeks. The children were further classified into two groups: the first group included children with chronic wet cough not associated with wheezing (Cohort A) and the second group included children with chronic cough associated with wheezing (Cohort B).

The study enrolled 64 children. During clinical evaluation, 25 (39.1%) children had a chronic cough without wheezing and 39 (60.9%) had a chronic wheezy cough. Bronchoscopic examination findings indicated a notable disparity between the two groups of patients with chronic cough (p=0.006). Among Cohort A patients, the most prevalent bronchoscopic observation was purulent inflammatory secretions in 16 cases (64.0%), followed by congenital airway anomalies in 3 cases (12.0%). Conversely, Cohort B patients exhibited congenital airway anomalies as the primary finding in 14 cases (35.9%), followed by purulent secretions in 7 cases (17.9%).

Flexible bronchoscopy is a valuable and safe tool for diagnosing chronic cough in children. It helped differentiate between the underlying causes of chronic cough in children with and without wheezing.