Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria for screening of titles/abstracts and eligible full text articles
| Category | Inclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria | Assessment in |
|---|---|---|---|
| (1) Study design | original quantitative study design regardless of study quality, risk of bias or type of data assessment | qualitative studies, case reports, reviews, full text was not available |
titles/abstracts, eligible full text articles |
| (2) Setting | primary care / general practice | secondary or tertiary care, emergency departments, out-of-hours-services, population-based settings |
titles/abstracts, eligible full text articles |
| (3) Symptom | cough as the primary or secondary reason for the consultation | patients were systematically asked whether they are coughing |
titles/abstracts, eligible full text articles |
| (4) Selection | unselected study population regarding the likelihood of a specific condition as the underlying aetiology | specific groups of cough patients were explicitly included or excluded (e.g. cough due to respiratory tract infections, a mandatory combination of cough with another symptom or an exclusion of patients with underlying conditions like asthma or COPD) | eligible full text articles |
| (5) Outcomes | data on incidence, prevalence, aetiology or the prognosis of cough | no data on incidence, prevalence, aetiology or the prognosis of cough | eligible full text articles |