Patients with ACE inhibitor-induced cough should be assessed for asthma, researchers suggest in the wake of a small study.

Among patients attending a single cardiology clinic over a year, US and Turkish researchers found an eightfold increased risk of patients with underlying asthma developing the cough after initiation of an ACE inhibitor (ACEi).

The 43 patients with ACEi-induced cough were compared with 50 controls, who had been treated with the same class of drug, without any side effects, for at least six months.

While the rate of doctor-diagnosed asthma trended higher in the cough group, this was not statistically significant.