ArticleERJ open research2020
Azithromycin for sarcoidosis cough: an open-label exploratory clinical trial.
Article in ERJ open research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Trial
- Cough in Interstitial Lung Disease: Current Knowledge and Research Gaps.Pulmonary therapy · 2026Review
- Measuring the effect of azithromycin in chronic respiratory disease using continuous cough monitoring: an open-label exploratory trial.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Long-Term Macrolides in Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Dusk or a New Dawn? A Narrative Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Latent microbial reactivation and immune dysregulation in sarcoidosis: bridging pathogenesis and precision therapeutics.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Chronic cough associated with COPD exacerbation, pneumonia and death in the general population.ERJ open research · 2024Article
- Cough in chronic lung disease: a state of the art review.Journal of thoracic disease · 2023Review
- Sarcoidosis: Updates on therapeutic drug trials and novel treatment approaches.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Review
- Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in Sarcoidosis: Diagnosis, Management, and Health Outcomes.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- The value of macrolides in the adjuvant treatment of pulmonary fibrosis: maybe a panacea.Therapeutic advances in respiratory diseaseReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChronic cough is a distressing symptom for many people with pulmonary sarcoidosis. Continuous treatment with a macrolide antibiotic may improve cough. We aimed to assess the potential efficacy of azithromycin in patients with sarcoidosis and self-reported cough.
methodsWe conducted a noncontrolled, open-label clinical trial of azithromycin 250 mg once daily for 3 months in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis who reported a chronic cough. The primary outcome was number of coughs in 24 h. Secondary outcomes were cough visual analogue scales and quality of life measured using the Leicester Cough Questionnaire and King's Sarcoidosis Questionnaire. Safety outcomes included QTc interval on ECG. Measurements were made at baseline and after 1 and 3 months of treatment.
resultsAll 21 patients were white, median age 57 years, 9 males, 12 females, median 3 years since diagnosis. Five were taking oral corticosteroids and none were taking other immunosuppressants. Twenty patients completed the trial. The median (range) number of coughs in 24 h was 228 (43-1950) at baseline, 122 (20-704) at 1 month, and 81 (16-414) at 3 months (p=0.002, Friedman's test). The median reduction in cough count at 3 months was 49.6%. There were improvements in all patient-reported outcomes. Azithromycin was well tolerated.
conclusionIn a noncontrolled open-label trial in people with sarcoidosis who reported a chronic cough, 3 months of treatment with azithromycin led to improvements in a range of cough metrics. Azithromycin should be tested as a treatment for sarcoidosis cough in a randomised placebo-controlled trial.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.