Cough is one of the most common symptom for which patients seek medical care (1,2) and might frequently lead to impaired quality of life (3), absenteeism, social embarrassment and other adverse effects such as urinary incontinence (4). Chronic cough is often misdiagnosed because of no overt chest radiographic findings (5-7). This results in unnecessary repetitive testing and inappropriate treatment in China, such as the overuse of antibiotics, which translates into limited clinical improvement but could lead to potential adverse side effects and constitute a significant healthcare burden (5-8).
