Longitudinal study of quality of life among children with acute respiratory infection and cough.

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs), and associated symptoms such as cough, are frequently experienced among children and impose a burden on families (e.g., use of medical resources and time off work/school). However, there are little data on changes in, and predictors of, quality of life (QoL) over the duration of an ARI with cough (ARIwC) episode. We therefore aimed to determine cough-specific QoL and identify its influencing factors among children with ARIwC, at the time of presentation to a pediatric emergency department (ED), and over the following 4 weeks.