Chronic cough in a girl with Chilaiditi's syndrome

A cough is usually considered chronic persistent if it lasts for more than 3 – 6 weeks. A cough is probably the most frequent symptom in chest diseases, but it may appear in cardiovascular and intestinal diseases. A five year-old girl with a persistent cough in association with Chilaiditi's syndrome is presented. Chilaiditi's syndrome is manifested with large bowel interposition between the liver and right hemidiaphragm. The persistent cough in our patient was presumably caused by excitation of the parasympathetic vagus nerve or by the pressure of the colon on the diaphragm (phrenic nerve). It was consistently relieved when the patient was placed in the “à la vache” position.