Half of children with recurrent or chronic wet cough before three years of age were symptom-free by age seven

Aim We aimed to study the natural course of recurrent episodic and chronic wet cough in preschool children, the proportion and age of resolution, and risk factors for persistent symptoms. Methods Parents of children with recurrent or chronic wet cough who had attended the outpatient clinic before the age of three years during 2010-2013 at Stavanger University Hospital, Norway, answered a questionnaire regarding clinical symptoms and current medication at a follow-up in 2017-2018. Results We invited 840 children to participate, and parents consented for 348 (41.4%) of the children. At the first outpatient visit, 171 children (58.8%) had recurrent episodic and 120 (41.2%) had chronic wet cough. At follow-up at a median age of 82 months, 57.0% in both groups were symptom-free, and 9.4% with episodic cough and 13.3% with chronic cough had more than mild symptoms. During the last 12 months prior to the survey, 27.2% with episodic cough and 18.6% with chronic cough had used inhaled corticosteroids. Conclusion Half of the preschool children with recurrent episodic or chronic wet cough outgrew their symptoms by the median age of seven years, but one in four still used inhaled corticosteroids.