ACE Inhibitor–Associated Cough in Children Common but Usually Well Tolerated compared to adults: Study
Researchers have found in a new retrospective study that cough related to ACE inhibitor use in children may be more prevalent than previously recognized, but it is typically mild, well tolerated, and seldom requires changes in treatment or management.
ntroduction: ACE inhibitors are commonly prescribed in children. Anecdotally, captopril- induced cough is not thought to occur in children as frequently as in adults.
They performed a retrospective cohort study in 100 paediatric cardiology patients taking regular ACE inhibitors (ACE-I). Telephone interviews and questionnaires were used to ask patients and their families about their experience of ACE-I–related cough symptoms. Results: Of the 100 patients, 15% reported symptoms of captopril-related cough. Only 1% required a change in medication due to their cough. Captopril-related cough appears to be less significant in children than in adult populations. The reason for this is unclear, but it may be related to differences in ACE expression between adult and paediatric lungs.
Reference:
Coffey, M., McCrossan, B., Moore, R., & Shields, M. (2026). Captopril-induced cough: Does it matter in children? A retrospective cohort study. In Press. https://doi.org/10.2174/0115733963356686251201052241
Keywords:
ACE inhibitor–associated cough, pediatric hypertension, children, adults, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, ACE inhibitors, adverse drug reaction, cough incidence, tolerability, pediatric pharmacology, randomized controlled trials, ACE inhibitor vs ARB, bradykinin accumulation, drug safety in children, Cough, captopril, captopril cough, cardiology, pharmacology, pediatrics.
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