PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Albertus den Brinker
AU  - Pete Hill
AU  - Michael Crooks
AU  - Yvette Hayman
AU  - Alyn Morice
TI  - Long term ambient cough count compared to symptom data
DP  - 2014 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P3010
VI  - 44
IP  - Suppl 58
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P3010.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P3010.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44
AB  - IntroductionAn observational pilot study explores the intrapatient correlations between cough count and subjective symptoms in order to see whether continuous objective cough monitoring yields additional information useable for COPD management.MethodFree-field microphones monitored the ambient sound in the living room and the bedroom of COPD patient's homes for a 45 day period. The sound data were analysed by a semi-automated cough classifier. Symptom data were collected on a daily basis using Likert scales.ResultsCorrelations between five symptom ratings and the cough count are summarized in Table 1. The patient's assessment of cough count did not correlate well to that scored using the free-field microphones. Subjective reporting of cough frequency tended to be limited to two or three levels encompassing a broad range of objective cough counts.View this table:ConclusionsAmbient sound monitoring for detecting cough is suitable for long-term home monitoring due to its unobtrusiveness. Objective cough count carries different information than subjective symptoms and thus promises a new insight into the patient's health status. Trending of objective cough is possible whereas subjective cough frequency offers little in terms of trending due to its coarse quantisation. Further research is needed on how to translate objectively measured cough frequency into clinical practice.