Which drug class is most commonly associated with a dry cough as a side effect?

Enhance your readiness for the Physician Assistant Clinical Knowledge Rating and Assessment Tool (PACKRAT) 4 Exam. Utilize our flashcards and multiple-choice questions, complete with hints and explanations, to ace your upcoming test!

Multiple Choice

Which drug class is most commonly associated with a dry cough as a side effect?

Explanation:
Dry cough is most commonly caused by ACE inhibitors due to accumulation of bradykinin when ACE is blocked. Bradykinin irritates the airway lining and can trigger a persistent, nonproductive cough after several weeks of therapy. ARBs do not increase bradykinin, so the cough is uncommon and these are often used as alternatives when an ACE inhibitor is not tolerated. The other classes—calcium channel blockers and beta blockers—do not have dry cough as a characteristic side effect profile, so they’re less likely explanations for this symptom. If a patient develops this cough, substituting an ARB or another antihypertensive class typically resolves it.

Dry cough is most commonly caused by ACE inhibitors due to accumulation of bradykinin when ACE is blocked. Bradykinin irritates the airway lining and can trigger a persistent, nonproductive cough after several weeks of therapy. ARBs do not increase bradykinin, so the cough is uncommon and these are often used as alternatives when an ACE inhibitor is not tolerated. The other classes—calcium channel blockers and beta blockers—do not have dry cough as a characteristic side effect profile, so they’re less likely explanations for this symptom. If a patient develops this cough, substituting an ARB or another antihypertensive class typically resolves it.

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