How best to measure cough clinically

•Cough endpoints include severity, frequency, intensity, urge and quality of life.•Cough frequency monitoring is emerging as a primary outcome measure for antitussive medications.•The most important endpoint from a patients’ perspective is quality of life.•Cough reflex sensitivity should be used to evaluate mechanisms of therapy, rather efficacy.

It is possible to measure cough by assessing its severity, frequency, intensity, associated urge and its impact on quality of life. Cough severity can simply be assessed with a Visual Analogue Scale. Cough frequency can be assessed objectively with cough frequency monitors. Validated cough monitors include the Leicester Cough Monitor and the VitaloJAK. Cough reflex sensitivity measurement is better used to investigate the mechanisms of action of antitussive medications, rather than assessing efficacy. Health-Related Quality of Life measures are available to assess the impact of cough; they include the validated Leicester Cough Questionnaire and Cough-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire for adult patients. It is best to assess cough with a combination of subjective and objective tools, to capture its wide-ranging impact.