response to the below DQ

Pascal-Milfort posted Jul 11, 2018 11:50 AM

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Dry Cough Case Study

The patient in question presents with the indications of headaches some of the follow-up questions that should be asked, include: do you experience allergies, asthma or any other related medical conditions? Have you suffered from a cold or the flu recently? Furthermore, I would ask if he smokes or spends time around people who smoke. Other important questions relevant to this condition are whether the patient has been exposed to air pollution such as excessive dust or fumes.

From the duration of a cough the patient has had it for approximately three months and therefore it can be categorized as a chronic cough (Chung & Pavord, 2008). The same regard the cough is dry and the severity increases in the evening. Frequent nasal congestion can be noted by the patient especially at times when he is exposed to a stimulus such as dust and cold weather (Chung & Pavord, 2008). The classification according to the duration would help in diagnosis since different coughs have distinct occurrences. As a result, the time frame of a cough can give important information regarding the nature of the cough.

To assist in the diagnosis of the cough several tests are required. This is important carefully differentiate between the almost similar types of a cough (Roda, Guihenneuc-Jouyaux, & Momas, 2013). One of the diagnostic tests to undertake is the physical exam where the patient is checked out for the symptoms of a cough. The clinician or the doctor, in this case, uses a stethoscope to listen to the lungs and identify if there are any wheezing sounds. Other diagnostic tests include the likes the examination of the mucus collected from the nose or the throat. This is the test that can be used to determine if the patient is suffering from a bacterial infection. A chest x-ray, on the other hand, can be taken to help diagnose the conditions such as pneumonia. Also, lung function tests can be conducted to measure the amount of air that s breathed in and out by the patient. This will give an indication of how well the lungs are operating. As such this is one of the useful tests that can be used to diagnose the conditions such as asthma. A sinus infection can be diagnosed by the use of a sinus x-ray.

Differential Diagnosis of the Cough

The differential diagnosis, in this case, entails two conditions. A post-viral cough and asthma induced cough. Both coughs share some characteristics such as persistence, the absence of phlegm, severity as well as the duration.

Post-Viral Cough