The diagnostic value of combined pulmonary function test and exhaled nitric oxide monitoring in cough variant asthma with or without gastroesophageal reflux disease: a retrospective study.

Summary: Have a cough that just won't go away? It might be a hidden type of asthma called Cough Variant Asthma (CVA). Doctors looked at patients who had been coughing for over eight weeks to figure out the best way to diagnose them. They found that testing the breath for a gas called nitric oxide (FeNO), combined with a special test that checks the smallest breathing tubes in the lungs (MMEF), works remarkably well. This combination helps doctors spot CVA highly accurately, even if the patient also suffers from acid reflux!