SLPRCTAmerican journal of speech-language pathology2023

Characterization of Ethyl Butyrate-Induced Cough Before and After Breath Control Techniques in Healthy Adults.

Carolyn K Novaleski, Karen Wheeler Hegland, Mikala M Aleksandruk and 2 others

PMID 36634229

WHAT IT FOUND

Pursed-lip breathing and slow-paced breathing both reduced the urge to cough after inhaling a chemical irritant, but neither technique reduced the actual number of coughs produced.

Key findings

01Both breath control techniques significantly reduced the urge to cough compared to baseline.

02Breath control techniques did not significantly change the cumulative cough frequency compared to baseline.

03There was no significant difference in urge to cough reduction between pursed-lip breathing and slow-paced breathing.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs

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What it does not show

The study was conducted on healthy adults without cough complaints, so results may not generalize to patients with chronic cough. Many participants did not cough or desensitized during the test, reducing the final sample size for some analyses. The study used a specific chemical irritant, so effects may differ with other triggers.

Declared interests

The research was supported by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders awards. No conflicts of interest were reported.

The easy way to misread this

Do not assume breath control stops coughing. The study found it reduced the urge to cough but did not significantly reduce the number of coughs produced.

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