Drewitz Karl Philipp, Bittner Claudia B, Piontek Katharina, Plach Michael, Abels Christoph, Apfelbacher Christian J
Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Medical Faculty, Magdeburg, Germany.
Research & Development, Bionorica SE, Neumarkt i.d.OPf., Germany.
J Thorac Dis. 2025 Jul 31;17(7):4600-4609. doi: 10.21037/jtd-2024-1972. Epub 2025 Jul 25.
Acute cough is a common symptom, frequently linked to respiratory tract infections. Although self-limiting, acute cough can significantly affect patients' quality of life (QoL), causing discomfort, disrupting sleep, and hindering daily activities. Identifying factors contributing to changes in cough-related QoL (crQoL) and severity of symptoms (SoS) is essential for developing personalised treatment approaches and enhancing patient care. The aim of this study was to investigate predictors for change in crQoL and SoS in individuals with acute cough due to respiratory tract infections using the thyme/ivy herbal fluid extract BNO 1200 (Bronchipret drops).
We retrospectively analysed data from an observational/non-interventional pharmacy-based study on the effectiveness and tolerability of BNO 1200 for the treatment of acute cough due to respiratory tract infections. CrQoL and SoS were measured with the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) and a patient-adapted version of the Bronchitis Severity Score (BSS), respectively. Change was defined as differences of LCQ and BSS scores before and after treatment with BNO 1200. We included age, sex, smoking status, cough severity and duration of symptoms before taking BNO 1200 as predictors for change in crQoL and SoS in multivariable regression analyses. Regarding clinically meaningful crQoL improvement (LCQ differences of ≥2 points), logistic regression analysis was performed, respectively. We derived β-estimates or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI).
Data from 674 participants (mean age 44.7 years, 66.2% female) with acute cough due to respiratory tract infections were analysed. LCQ and BSS scores showed a mean change of 6.3 points (95% CI: 6.0 to 6.5) and 6.2 points (95% CI: 5.9 to 6.5) from baseline to follow-up, respectively. Further, 615 participants (91.2%) showed an improvement in LCQ scores of ≥2 points. Analyses on predictors for change in crQoL revealed that lower crQoL prior to treatment and longer duration of intake of BNO 1200 were significantly associated with crQoL change. When clinically meaningful crQoL improvement was considered, greater cough severity prior to treatment and lower crQoL before treatment were statistically significant predictors. Regarding SoS, crQoL prior to treatment (LCQ baseline values), longer duration of intake of BNO 1200, greater symptom severity prior to treatment (BSS baseline values) and younger age were significantly associated with greater change.
Factors predicting change in crQoL and SoS in acute cough due to respiratory tract infections were mainly at the level of symptom severity, treatment duration and crQoL prior to treatment with BNO 1200.
急性咳嗽是一种常见症状，常与呼吸道感染相关。尽管急性咳嗽具有自限性，但它会显著影响患者的生活质量（QoL），导致不适、扰乱睡眠并妨碍日常活动。确定导致咳嗽相关生活质量（crQoL）变化和症状严重程度（SoS）的因素对于制定个性化治疗方案和改善患者护理至关重要。本研究的目的是使用百里香/常春藤草药液提取物BNO 1200（支气管滴剂）调查呼吸道感染所致急性咳嗽患者crQoL和SoS变化的预测因素。
我们回顾性分析了一项基于药房的观察性/非干预性研究的数据，该研究旨在探讨BNO 1200治疗呼吸道感染所致急性咳嗽的有效性和耐受性。分别使用莱斯特咳嗽问卷（LCQ）和患者适应性支气管炎严重程度评分（BSS）来测量crQoL和SoS。变化定义为使用BNO 1200治疗前后LCQ和BSS评分的差异。在多变量回归分析中，我们将年龄、性别、吸烟状况、咳嗽严重程度以及服用BNO 1200前的症状持续时间作为crQoL和SoS变化的预测因素。对于具有临床意义的crQoL改善（LCQ差异≥2分），分别进行逻辑回归分析。我们得出了β估计值或比值比（OR）以及95%置信区间（CI）。
分析了674例呼吸道感染所致急性咳嗽患者的数据（平均年龄44.7岁，66.2%为女性）。从基线到随访，LCQ和BSS评分的平均变化分别为6.3分（95%CI：6.0至6.5）和6.2分（95%CI：5.9至6.5）。此外，615例患者（91.2%）的LCQ评分改善≥2分。对crQoL变化预测因素的分析表明，治疗前较低的crQoL以及较长的BNO 1200服用时间与crQoL变化显著相关。当考虑具有临床意义的crQoL改善时，治疗前更严重的咳嗽和更低的crQoL是具有统计学意义的预测因素。关于SoS，治疗前的crQoL（LCQ基线值）、较长的BNO 1200服用时间、治疗前更严重的症状（BSS基线值）以及较年轻的年龄与更大的变化显著相关。
呼吸道感染所致急性咳嗽中crQoL和SoS变化的预测因素主要在症状严重程度、治疗持续时间以及服用BNO 1200前的crQoL水平。
