Discussion on the pathogenesis and treatment of cough variant asthma in children from the perspective of " systemic qi stagnation"
10.3969/j.issn.1006-2157.2025.06.005
- VernacularTitle:“通身气不宣”视角下探讨儿童咳嗽变异性哮喘的病机与治法
- Author:
Xue GONG
1
;
Zhihui LIU
1
;
Fang LIU
2
;
Xiaohong BAI
2
Author Information
1. First Clinical College of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
2. Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
cough variant asthma;
spasmodic cough;
children;
systemic qi stagnation;
clear-moistening
- From:
Journal of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
2025;48(6):767-773
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Cough variant asthma is a distinct subtype of asthma characterized by chronic irritant dry cough as the sole or predominant clinical manifestation. It is one of the primary causes of chronic cough in children. In traditional Chinese medicine, it belongs to the category of " spasmodic cough", " wind-induced cough", " chronic cough", and " asthmatic cough". At present, Western medicine treatment approaches mainly focus on symptomatic treatment, but fail to fully deal with its complex systemic mechanisms, and have limitations such as poor control of clinical symptoms and rebound exacerbation upon treatment cessation. Based on the theory of " systemic qi stagnation", this paper proposes that the core pathogenesis of cough variant asthma in children is qi stagnation, intermingling of phlegm and blood stasis, and obstruction of collaterals. Disease progression is fundamentally driven by exogenous pathogen activation of endogenous predispositions, particularly dysregulation of sanjiao qi movement, which serves as the primary disease-inducing factor. During the acute phase, the treatment principle focuses on dispelling wind and ventilating lung to restore physiological qi. As the disease progresses to the progressive phase, the focus shifts toward smoothing liver and purging lung to resolve qi counterflow. In the chronic phase, therapeutic strategy prioritizes dissipating phlegm and eliminating blood stasis to smooth collaterals. Finally, during the remission phase, treatment emphasizes strengthening spleen and kidney to consolidate the foundation and cultivate the vitality. This integrative approach synergizes the external elimination of latent pathogens, internal harmonization of qi movement, and dredging collaterals by dispelling blood stasis. It also incorporates the theory of " gentle dispersion to expel pathogens and moistening dryness to harmonize collaterals", aiming to provide a theoretical basis and effective prescriptions for the integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment of cough variant asthma in children.
