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Pregabalin plus speech pathology treatment benefits patients with chronic refractory cough

The addition of the centrally acting neuromodulator pregabalin to speech pathology treatment significantly improved symptoms of chronic refractory cough, according to results of a randomized controlled trial.

The regimen also improved quality of life, Anne E. Vertigan, BAppSc(SpPath), MBS, PhD, of the speech pathology department at John Hunter Hospital in Australia, and colleagues concluded.

The analysis included 40 patients with chronic refractory cough. Researchers randomly assigned them to either pregabalin 300 mg daily or placebo.

Researchers used the Leicester Cough Monitor to measure cough frequency, a visual analog scale to measure cough severity, and the Leicester Cough Questionnaire to measure quality of life.

Although cough severity, frequency and quality of life improved in both groups, researchers reported a greater improvement in Leicester Cough Questionnaire scores (mean difference = 3.5; 95% CI, 1.1-5.8) and visual analog scale scores (mean difference = 25.1; 95% CI, 10.6-39.6) for patients who received the combination treatment than those assigned speech pathology treatment alone.

Median capsaicin cough sensitivity improved from 15.7 µM to 47.5 µM among those assigned combination therapy, and they improved from 3.92 µM to 5.7 µM among those assigned pregabalin alone.

The researchers reported no significant difference in cough frequency improvement for either group. Removal of pregabalin did not impact symptoms when the neuromodulator was stopped. – by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: Healio.com/Pulmonology was unable to confirm the researchers’ relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.