Interaction between CASA-Q domains: Real world insights into MUCINEX® use in stable chronic bronchitis (SCB)

Spangenthal S, Divel C, Borecka O, Fellows A, Llewllyn S.

Presented at American Cough Conference 2025.

Purpose:

To determine the real-world effectiveness of MUCINEX^® (including dose, long-term chronic use, tolerability, and patient-reported outcomes) when used by patients with stable chronic bronchitis (SCB).

Study Design:

An open-label, multicenter, single-group study

Methods:

Adults 40 years and over with SCB* (N=75)
Patients received MUCINEX^® extended-release tablets, 1200 mg BID, over a 12-week period following a 2-week run-in period of only their maintenance therapy to establish baseline
Patients received MUCINEX^®from week 2 onwards and completed surveys assessing symptom impact and improvement, including Cough and Sputum Assessment Questionnaire (CASA-Q), a validated patient-reported outcome measure (PRO)

CASA-Q assesses degree to which cough and sputum affects the day-to-day quality of life (QoL) of the surveyed patients. It includes 20 items across 4 domains: cough symptoms (COUS), cough impact (COUI), sputum symptoms (SPUS), and sputum impact (SPUI).
Higher scores indicate fewer symptoms and less impact on QoL

Pearson’s correlation coefficient^® calculated to examine associations between CASA-Q domains across the 12-week treatment period

Key Findings:

	Strong correlation observed between sputum and cough symptoms and their impact across all 12 weeks
	Patients reported improvement in their sputum and cough symptoms and impact on patients' health-related QoL
	MUCINEX® extended-release tablets were well tolerated for 3 months with no significant drug-related adverse effects

Results

Strong positive correlation between CASA-Q† cough and sputum domain scores with MUCINEX^® use in SCB

Correlation between sputum and cough symptoms with use of MUCINEX^®
suggests that effective mucus clearance may support improvements in cough burden

Correlation between sputum and cough impact with use of MUCINEX^® suggests that
managing sputum-related symptoms effectively may support significant improvements in cough impact on patients’ QoL

BID=twice daily; CASA-Q=Cough and Sputum Assessment Questionnaire.

Defined as chronic productive cough for at least 3 months in 2 consecutive years and no acute exacerbations in the previous 4 weeks.
CASA-Q assesses degree to which cough and sputum affect the day-to-day quality of life of the surveyed patients.

Reference: Spangenthal S, et al. The interplay between CASA-Q domains: insights from the first real-world study investigating the effects of MUCINEX^® in stable chronic bronchitis. Presented at American Cough Conference 2025.

WebMD notes that “Expectorants thin mucus.”¹ This real-world, open-label, multicenter analysis (American Cough Conference 2025) examined how cough and sputum relate in 75 adults aged 40 or older with stable chronic bronchitis (SCB; chronic productive cough for at least 3 months in 2 consecutive years and no acute exacerbations in the previous 4 weeks) taking MUCINEX® extended-release (1200 mg twice daily) for 12 weeks after a 2-week run-in. Cough and sputum symptoms were strongly correlated (0.98), as were their impacts on quality of life (0.99), suggesting that effective mucus clearance may support improvements in cough burden. MUCINEX® was well tolerated.²