Cough: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Treatment

Alessandro Zanasi is currently director at the Sismer Cough Center in Bologna, Italy and president of the Italian Cough Society (AIST). He is member of the European Respiratory Society and American Thoracic Society and author of several peer-reviewed journal articles, books chapters and textbooks. He worked at the Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Universitary Hospital in Bologna from 1981 to 2016. His areas of interest include all aspects of clinical medicine within the spectrum of pulmonary and critical care medicine, with particular interest in assessment, pathogenesis and treatment of coughs. His main research focus has been the clinical and scientific aspects of acute and chronic coughs. Giovanni Fontana is associate professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Florence, Department of Critical Care Medicine and Surgery Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at the hospital "I Fraticini". He is also associate director of the diagnostic laboratory of the Respiratory Pathophysiology Unit at the University of Florence. He is fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, member of the European Respiratory Society, Italian Society of Respiratory Medicine and International Society for Study of Cough. His research interests include the pathophysiology of asthma, neurophysiology of breathing, respiratory control in humans, control of airway smooth muscle, airway defense mechanisms and the clinical physiology of cough.

Preface.- PART A: Cough Sensorimotor Mechanisms.- 1.Physiology of cough.- 2. Sensory pathways and neural modulation of cough.- 3. Brainstem structures involved in the generation of reflex cough.- 4. The Cough Motor Pattern.- Part B: Clinical Assessment of Cough.- 5. Acute and chronic cough.- 6. Cough Hypersensitivity Syndrome.- 7. Clinical Methods for the study of cough.- 8. Diagnostic approach to adult chronic cough patients.- 9. Pediatric cough.- Part C: Cough Therapy.- 10. Pharmacological therapy of acute and chronic cough.- 11. Emerging drugs for chronic cough.