Chest
Clinical InvestigationsCOUGHEffect of Guaifenesin on Cough Reflex Sensitivity
Section snippets
Subjects
Fourteen healthy volunteers (5 men and 9 women; mean age ± SEM, 36.1 ± 1.2 years), as well as 14 otherwise healthy subjects with symptoms consistent with URI (4 men and 10 women; mean age, 30.8 ± 1.2 years) were recruited for the study, which was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Albert Einstein Hospital/Montefiore Medical Center. All participants were nonsmokers without a history of pulmonary disease, and without history or symptoms suggestive of gastroesophageal reflux. Healthy
Results
The induction of five or more coughs was achieved in all participants. In subjects with URI, there were no significant differences in pulmonary function values (FVC, FEV1, and forced expiratory flow, midexpiratory phase) after guaifenesin and placebo. In terms of cough sensitivity, mean log C5 after guaifenesin was significantly higher than after placebo: 0.92 ± 0.17 and 0.66 ± 0.14, respectively (p = 0.028). Seven of 14 subjects demonstrated a two doubling-concentration increase in C5 after
Discussion
The present study has demonstrated that a single, 400-mg dose of guaifenesin inhibits cough reflex sensitivity to inhaled capsaicin in subjects with acute viral URI. In contrast, cough sensitivity was not altered by guaifenesin in healthy volunteers. Thus, the observed antitussive effect of guaifenesin appears limited to subjects in whom cough receptor sensitivity is enhanced, in this case by the presence of a viral URI. To the best of our knowledge, the only prior study16 that has evaluated
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Cited by (84)
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2021, Measurement: Journal of the International Measurement ConfederationAntitussive, expectorant, and anti-inflammatory effects of Adenophorae Radix powder in ICR mice
2019, Journal of EthnopharmacologyCitation Excerpt :Cough can occur either as a non-productive (dry) or productive (chesty) cough (Dapaah et al., 2016). Non-productive coughing is treated effectively by antitussive drugs, which are not as effective against productive coughing unless the antitussive also exhibits expectorant properties (Dicpinigaitis and Gayle, 2003). In addition, inflammatory processes have been involved in the pathogenesis of various respiratory disorders (Sanak, 2016; Woloski et al., 2016).
Supported by a grant from Procter & Gamble.
Presented in part at the American Thoracic Society International Conference, Seattle, WA, May 20, 2003.