Study of various X-ray presentations for the symptom of cough of more than 2 weeks duration in a tertiary care hospital

Background: A cough can be the result of a respiratory tract infection such as the common cold, acute bronchitis, pneumonia, pertussis, or tuberculosis. In the vast majority of cases, acute coughs, i.e. coughs shorter than 3 weeks, are due to the common cold. In people with a normal chest X-ray, tuberculosis is a rare finding. Pertussis is increasingly being recognized as a cause of troublesome coughing in adults. Aim: It was diagnosed mainly by simple sputum acid-fast staining, and in some cases, gene expert was needed to prove the diagnosis for starting ATT Materials and methods: This observational study was conducted in Govt. Royapettah Hospital, Chennai, included patients presenting with >2 weeks duration of a cough irrespective of age and sex. Among 45 patients for a chronic cough, with X-ray finding, the diagnosis was confirmed by other radiological and laboratory methods. Results: Among other infective causes, major organisms causing pneumonia was Klebsiella pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumonia, and E.coli. All these patients were treated with culture-specific antibiotics and recovered. 7 patients (14%) were admitted for a chronic lung in X-ray. All these patients were chronic smokers and had a cough for the long term with minimal mucoid sputum production. Conclusion: Thus from our observational study it was concluded that Tuberculosis is still the most common etiology for a chronic cough, and how simple X-ray could guide us to diagnosis is seen