Honking: Psychogenic cough in a young adolescent female undiagnosed for a year

Psychogenic cough in a young adolescent female undiagnosed for two years

Abstract

Psychogenic cough also called habit cough is a debilitating condition affecting mainly pediatric and adolescent population. Its prevalence is low and hence may be unrecognized for several months. We report one such case in a young adolescent female who presented with “honking cough†and remained undiagnosed for one year. She received multiple courses of oral steroids and antibiotics without much improvement. This created a stressful condition for her family as the honking cough remained undiagnosed in spite of consulting many physicians. She reported to our hospital where a diagnosis of Psychogenic cough was made and she showed marked improvement with suggestion therapy. This case is reported to create awareness of this condition as a cause for chronic cough in adolescent age group when such patients present to a physician instead of a pediatrician.