Cough Control Therapy for Interstitial Lung Disease (COTHILD)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Cough Control therapy for Fibrotic Interstitial Lung Disease related chronic cough: feasibility study
IRAS ID
339244
Contact name
Siobhan Ludlow
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
Chronic cough is one of the most common problems experienced by people with fibrotic Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) and affects their everyday life. ILD is a chronic, progressive disease that causes stiffening of the lungs. Cough can be a distressing symptom making sufferers feel embarrassed, low in mood, anxious, affects their sleep and affects their everyday activities. Current treatments to help chronic cough for people with ILD are limited clinically and there are a few medication trials ongoing. However, for people with chronic cough due to another condition called refractory chronic cough, studies have found Cough Control Therapy (CCT); a non-medication based treatment, can help to reduce how much people cough and improve their quality of life.
CCT includes a combination of treatments including, education, techniques to reduce coughing, and exercises to improve breathing.
Those who agree to take part will receive CCT in addition to their usual treatments for ILD. They will attend four treatment sessions in groups of three, over a 7 week period with a physiotherapist. The first session will be 1.5 hours and the other sessions will all be 1 hour long. These will be a mix of face-to-face and online treatment sessions. There will also be a 2 month follow up.
This study is a feasibility study to explore what the feasibility of using CCT for patients with ILD is. During the study information on the number of people who did and didn’t finish the study, their satisfaction, and the effect on their cough and quality of life will be recorded.Some of those taking part will also be asked to take part in an interview to talk about why they took part, their satisfaction with CCT and for those who did not finish the study why they didn’t.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/WM/0210
Date of REC Opinion
29 Oct 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion