Objective: To study the value of bronchofibroscopy in the etiologic identification of chronic cough in children.
Methods: Under local anesthesia of lidocaine, bronchofibroscopy was performed in 118 children with chronic cough of unknown origin (73 males and 45 females). Their ages ranged from 3 months to 13 years.
Results: The cause of chronic cough was identified in 115 cases. The most common cause was respiratory infection (n=39),followed by bronchial foreign bodies (n=19), upper airway cough syndrome (n=17), bronchial asthma or cough variant asthma (n=17), bronchomalacia (n=7), bronchial congenital malformation (n=5), primary ciliary dyskinesia (n=3), gastro-esophageal reflux (n=3), bronchial tumor (n=2), bronchial tuberculosis (n=1), pulmonary fibrosis (n=1) and idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (n=1).
Conclusions: Bronchofibroscopy is useful in the etiologic identification of chronic cough in children.