We assessed cough symptoms (0–100 mm visual analogue scale; VAS) and cough-related QOL in 53 patients with stable non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis at baseline and >4 weeks after outpatient-based BHPT. Cough specific health status was assessed with the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ; total score range 3–21, higher scores representing better QOL).
All patients with bronchiectasis complained of cough as the major symptom and had mean (SEM) FEV1 of 2.1 (0.1) L. Cough-related health status was reduced at baseline; mean (SEM) LCQ score 14.3 (0.6). There were significant improvements in cough symptoms (mean cough VAS before 43.3 (3.6) vs after 27.5 (3.1); mean difference 15.8; 95 % CI of difference 9.6–22; p < 0.0001) and cough-related health status after BHPT (mean LCQ total score before 14.2 vs after 17.3; mean difference 3.1; 95 % confidence interval of difference 2.4–3.9; p < 0.001). A significant improvement was seen in all LCQ health-related domains (physical, psychological and social; all p < 0.001).
Our findings suggest that bronchopulmonary hygiene physical therapy can lead to a significant improvement in cough-related quality of life.