TABLE 1 ] .

Key Clinical Question and PICOTS/Study Selection Criteria

Key Question: In Studies of Subjects With Chronic Cough, Did the Authors State That Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines or an Evidence-Based Protocol Were Followed for Diagnosis and Management, and Did Fidelity to the Guidelines/Study Improve Outcomes?
PICOTS/study selection criteria
Population
Adult patients receiving clinical evaluation and management for chronic cough
Includes both subjects with chronic cough that is ultimately resolved (explained) or that remains unresolved, unresponsive, intractable, refractory, idiopathic, unexplained
Intervention
Application of evidence-based guidelines or protocols for the diagnosis and management of chronic cough (includes subjects fulfilling the definition of chronic cough, fidelity to the recommended diagnostic evaluations performed and management strategies used, intervention fidelity to the study)
Use of validated or standardized outcome measures
Comparators
Diagnosis and management of chronic cough that is not faithful to evidence-based guidelines or protocols
Use of nonvalidated or nonstandardized measures to establish outcomes
Outcomes
Diagnosis of explained and unexplained (idiopathic) chronic cough
Subjective or objective improvement in cough severity
Subjective or objective improvement in cough-specific quality of life
Timing
Chronic cough, with cough of ≥ 3 wk duration
Setting
Outpatient
Specialty or primary care
Study design
Any clinical trial or comparative study, randomized or not
English language only
Date of the first published guideline for the management of cough (1998) forward
Human
All sample sizes
Studies with enough detail related to full cough guideline or protocol use to assess for intervention fidelity; exclude case series submitted as letters to the editor

PICOTS = population, intervention, comparator, outcome, timing, setting.