Chronic cough is a common disease of pediatric consultations, and the etiology of chronic cough in children varies in different regions. Lanzhou is located in the inland northwest of China, with a dry climate, more dusty weather, and higher pollen concentrations in the fall, but there is a lack of research on the etiology of chronic cough in children.

To investigate the etiological composition of chronic cough and the major etiological changes in children in Lanzhou from 2014 to 2023.

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 944 children with chronic cough treated in outpatient and inpatient clinics of Gansu Provincial Maternal and Child-care Hospital (Gansu Provincial Central Hospital) from 2014 to 2023. And explored the etiology of chronic cough in children and its relationship with gender, age, season, and year.

The etiological distribution of chronic cough in children from 2014 to 2023 was listed as follows. There were 314 cases (33.26%) of cough variant asthma (CVA), 259 cases (27.44%) of upper airway cough syndrome (UACS), 221 cases (23.41%) of post-infectious cough (PIC), 34 cases (3.60%) of protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB), 9 cases (0.95%) of gastroesophageal reflux cough (GERC), and other etiologies of cough in 107 cases (11.34%). Among 107 children with cough of other etiologies, 80 children with multiple etiologies (8.47% of total cases) and 30.00% (24/80) of children with multiple etiologies had UACS combined with PIC. There was no statistical significance in the etiological distribution of chronic cough in children of different genders (χ²=0.894, P=0.971). The etiological distribution of chronic cough in children of different ages and seasons was statistically significant (χ²=361.544, P<0.001; χ²=31.793, P=0.007). Trend χ² test showed that CVA gradually decreased with the increase of years (χ²=43.252, P<0.001), UACS gradually increased (χ²=30.431, P<0.001) .

CVA, UACS, and PIC were the leading causes of chronic cough in children in Lanzhou from 2014 to 2023. Among the multiple etiologies, UACS combined with PIC is the first cause. Age and season affected the composition of chronic cough in children in this region. As the years changed, CVA gradually decreased and UACS showed a significant increasing trend.

慢性咳嗽是儿科常见的疾病，不同地区儿童慢性咳嗽病因存在差异。兰州地处西北内陆，气候干燥，沙尘天气较多，秋季花粉浓度较高，但目前缺乏本地区儿童慢性咳嗽的病因研究。

探讨兰州地区2014—2023年0~14岁儿童慢性咳嗽病因构成及其主要病因变化。

回顾性分析2014—2023年于甘肃省妇幼保健院（甘肃省中心医院）门诊及住院治疗的944例慢性咳嗽患儿的临床资料，并探讨儿童慢性咳嗽病因构成及其与性别、年龄、季节、年份的关系。

2014—2023年儿童慢性咳嗽的病因分布为：咳嗽变异性哮喘314例（33.26%），上气道咳嗽综合征259例（27.44%），感染后咳嗽221例（23.41%），迁延性细菌性支气管炎34例（3.60%），胃食管反流性咳嗽9例（0.95%），其他病因咳嗽107例（11.34%）。107例其他病因咳嗽的患儿中多病因儿童80例（占总病例数8.47%），多病因儿童中上气道咳嗽综合征合并感染后咳嗽占30.00%（24/80）。不同性别儿童慢性咳嗽病因分布比较，差异无统计学意义（χ²=0.894，P=0.971）。不同年龄、季节儿童慢性咳嗽病因分布比较，差异有统计学意义（χ²=361.544，P<0.001；χ²=31.793，P=0.007）。趋势χ²检验结果显示，随着年份的增长，咳嗽变异性哮喘逐渐减少（χ²=43.252，P<0.001），上气道咳嗽综合征逐渐上升（χ²=30.431，P<0.001）。

咳嗽变异性哮喘、上气道咳嗽综合征、感染后咳嗽是2014—2023年兰州地区0~14岁儿童慢性咳嗽的主要病因。在多病因中，上气道咳嗽综合征合并感染后咳嗽是其首位原因。年龄与季节会影响本地区儿童慢性咳嗽构成。随着年份变化，咳嗽变异性哮喘逐渐减少，上气道咳嗽综合征呈明显上升趋势。