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We welcome the study of a P2X3 receptor antagonist in refractory chronic cough by Rayid Abdulqawi and colleagues (March 28, p 1198),1 considering the paucity of effective treatments for this disorder. However, the report raises three questions. What is the cough frequency needed to show an effect of the drug? Might inclusion of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have affected the outcome? Did the effect of the drug on taste unmask participants?
Patients who responded were largely patients with more than 40 coughs per h. However, previous data from the authors' own group indicate that...