Impact of Speech and Language Therapy on Chronic Cough in Japan

Abstract

While speech and language therapy (SLT) is recommended as behavioral therapy for chronic cough, the therapeutic impact of SLT in treating patients with this disease has not yet been reported in Japan. In this study, we performed multidimensional analysis on the therapeutic impact of SLT against chronic cough. Nine patients who underwent SLT for chronic cough with symptoms persisting more than 8 weeks after onset between January 2019 and July 2020 were incorporated into this study. Their symptoms were resistant against standard cough treatments administered by respiratory physicians and/or otorhinolaryngologists. The protocol of SLT to treat chronic cough consisted of education on coughing, laryngeal hygiene, cough control, and psychoeducational counseling. This regimen was performed 4 times in 8 weeks on each patient. Significant improvements in the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), Japanese version of Newcastle Laryngeal Hypersensitivity Questionnaire (J-NLHQ), G score, maximum phonation time (MPT), and Voice Handicap Index (VHI) were observed after SLT. Improvements in LCQ and J-NLHQ were observed in 77.8% and 66.7% of patients, respectively. Significant improvements in GERD-Q were not observed after SLT; however, the scale of effect was considerable. Our study suggested that improvement of various laryngeal functions by SLT might be responsible for successful suppression of chronic cough.