Mashat GD, Hazique M, Khan KI, Ramesh P, Kanagalingam S, Ul Haq Z, Victory Srinivasan N, Khan AI, Khan S. Comparing the Effectiveness of Honey Consumption With Anti-Cough Medication in Pediatric Patients: A Systematic Review.
Cureus 2022;
14:e29346. [PMID:
36284810 PMCID:
PMC9583571 DOI:
10.7759/cureus.29346]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Coughing is one of the most prevalent symptoms in children presenting at outpatient departments. This systematic review aimed to review previous literature in order to compare the use of honey and antitussive medications for treating coughs in children. Literature was screened across five databases using Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) strategy, keywords, and inclusion and exclusion criteria. The remaining literature was evaluated using a quality appraisal tool checklist. This review includes systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies, cross-sectional studies, and articles without a defined methodology section. This review suggests that honey is effective in treating children above 12 months of age, while cold and cough medications (CCMs) are safe if administered at therapeutic doses. Since fatalities can occur in children under two years of age, further RCT studies on CCMs are required to establish safety across all age groups.
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