Comparison of atopic cough with cough variant asthma: is atopic cough a precursor of asthma?

We have described a group of patients who present with isolated chronic bronchodilator resistant non-productive cough with an atopic constitution, eosinophilic tracheobronchitis, and airway cough receptor hypersensitivity without bronchial hyperresponsiveness, which we have termed "atopic cough". Although cough variant asthma (in which the cough responds to bronchodilators) is recognised as a precursor of typical asthma, it is not known whether...