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Hawke K, King D, van Driel ML, McGuire TM. Homeopathic medicinal products for preventing and treating acute respiratory tract infections in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2022; 12:CD005974. [PMID: 36511520 PMCID: PMC9746041 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd005974.pub6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are common and may lead to complications. Most children experience between three and six ARTIs annually. Although most infections are self-limiting, symptoms can be distressing. Many treatments are used to control symptoms and shorten illness duration. Most treatments have minimal benefit and may lead to adverse events. Oral homeopathic medicinal products could play a role in childhood ARTI management if evidence for their effectiveness is established. This is an update of a review first published in 2018. OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness and safety of oral homeopathic medicinal products compared with placebo or conventional therapy to prevent and treat ARTIs in children. SEARCH METHODS We searched CENTRAL (2022, Issue 3), including the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1946 to 16 March 2022), Embase (2010 to 16 March 2022), CINAHL (1981 to 16 March 2022), AMED (1985 to 16 March 2022), CAMbase (searched 16 March 2022), and British Homeopathic Library (searched 26 June 2013 - no longer operating). We also searched the WHO ICTRP and ClinicalTrials.gov (16 March 2022), checked references, and contacted study authors to identify additional studies. SELECTION CRITERIA We included double-blind randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or double-blind cluster-RCTs comparing oral homeopathy medicinal products with identical placebo or self-selected conventional treatments to prevent or treat ARTIs in children aged 0 to 16 years. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS In this 2022 update, we identified three new RCTs involving 251 children, for a total of 11 included RCTs with 1813 children receiving oral homeopathic medicinal products or a control treatment (placebo or conventional treatment) for ARTIs. All studies focused on upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), with only one study including some lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). Six treatment studies examined the effect on URTI recovery, and five studies investigated the effect on preventing URTIs after one to four months of treatment. Two treatment and three prevention studies involved homeopaths individualising treatment. The other studies used predetermined, non-individualised treatments. All studies involved highly diluted homeopathic medicinal products, with dilutions ranging from 1 x 10-4 to 1 x 10-200. We identified several limitations to the included studies, in particular methodological inconsistencies and high attrition rates, failure to conduct intention-to-treat analysis, selective reporting, and apparent protocol deviations. We assessed three studies as at high risk of bias in at least one domain, and many studies had additional domains with unclear risk of bias. Four studies received funding from homeopathy manufacturers; one study support from a non-government organisation; two studies government support; one study was co-sponsored by a university; and three studies did not report funding support. Methodological inconsistencies and significant clinical and statistical heterogeneity precluded robust quantitative meta-analysis. Only four outcomes were common to more than one study and could be combined for analysis. Odds ratios (OR) were generally small with wide confidence intervals (CI), and the contributing studies found conflicting effects, so there was little certainty that the efficacy of the intervention could be ascertained. All studies assessed as at low risk of bias showed no benefit from oral homeopathic medicinal products, whilst trials at unclear or high risk of bias reported beneficial effects. For the comparison of individualised homeopathy versus placebo or usual care for the prevention of ARTIs, two trials reported on disease severity; due to heterogeneity the data were not combined, but neither study demonstrated a clinically significant difference. We combined data from two trials for the outcome need for antibiotics (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.35 to 1.76; low-certainty evidence). For the comparison of non-individualised homeopathy versus placebo or usual care for the prevention of ARTIs, only the outcome recurrence of ARTI was reported by more than one trial; data from three studies were combined for this outcome (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.21 to 1.72; low-certainty evidence). For the comparison of both individualised and non-individualised homeopathy versus placebo or usual care for the treatment of ARTIs, two studies provided data on short-term cure (OR 1.31, 95% CI 0.09 to 19.54) and long-term cure (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.10 to 9.96; very low-certainty evidence). The studies demonstrated an opposite direction of effect for both outcomes. Six studies reported on disease severity but were not combined as they used different scoring systems and scales. Three studies reported adverse events (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.16 to 4.03; low-certainty evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Pooling of five prevention and six treatment studies did not show any consistent benefit of homeopathic medicinal products compared to placebo on ARTI recurrence or cure rates in children. We assessed the certainty of the evidence as low to very low for the majority of outcomes. We found no evidence to support the efficacy of homeopathic medicinal products for ARTIs in children. Adverse events were poorly reported, and we could not draw conclusions regarding safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Hawke
- General Practice Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - David King
- General Practice Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Mieke L van Driel
- General Practice Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Treasure M McGuire
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Mater Pharmacy, Mater Health South East Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia
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Chiappini E, Santamaria F, Marseglia GL, Marchisio P, Galli L, Cutrera R, de Martino M, Antonini S, Becherucci P, Biasci P, Bortone B, Bottero S, Caldarelli V, Cardinale F, Gattinara GC, Ciarcià M, Ciofi D, D'Elios S, Di Mauro G, Doria M, Indinnimeo L, Lo Vecchio A, Macrì F, Mattina R, Miniello VL, Del Giudice MM, Morbin G, Motisi MA, Novelli A, Palamara AT, Panatta ML, Pasinato A, Peroni D, Perruccio K, Piacentini G, Pifferi M, Pignataro L, Sitzia E, Tersigni C, Torretta S, Trambusti I, Trippella G, Valentini D, Valentini S, Varricchio A, Verga MC, Vicini C, Zecca M, Villani A. Prevention of recurrent respiratory infections : Inter-society Consensus. Ital J Pediatr 2021; 47:211. [PMID: 34696778 PMCID: PMC8543868 DOI: 10.1186/s13052-021-01150-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recurrent respiratory infections (RRIs) are a common clinical condition in children, in fact about 25% of children under 1 year and 6% of children during the first 6 years of life have RRIs. In most cases, infections occur with mild clinical manifestations and the frequency of episodes tends to decrease over time with a complete resolution by 12 years of age. However, RRIs significantly reduce child and family quality of life and lead to significant medical and social costs.Despite the importance of this condition, there is currently no agreed definition of the term RRIs in the literature, especially concerning the frequency and type of infectious episodes to be considered. The aim of this consensus document is to propose an updated definition and provide recommendations with the intent of guiding the physician in the complex process of diagnosis, management and prevention of RRIs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Chiappini
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
| | - Francesca Santamaria
- Departement of Translational Medical Sciences, Federico II University, Naples, Italy
| | - Gian Luigi Marseglia
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Pavia IRCCS San Matteo foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Paola Marchisio
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Luisa Galli
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Renato Cutrera
- Respiratory Unit, Academic Pediatric Department, Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio de Martino
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Sara Antonini
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Paolo Becherucci
- Family Pediatrician, Local Health Unit, Lastra a Signa, Florence, Italy
| | - Paolo Biasci
- Family Pediatrician, Local Health Unit, Livorno, Italy
| | - Barbara Bortone
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Sergio Bottero
- Airway Surgery Unit, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Valeria Caldarelli
- Department of Obstetrics Gynaecology and Pediatrics, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Fabio Cardinale
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hospital Giovanni XXIII, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Martina Ciarcià
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Daniele Ciofi
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Sofia D'Elios
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Paediatrics, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Di Mauro
- Pediatric Primary Care, National Pediatric Health Care System, Caserta, Italy
| | - Mattia Doria
- Family Pediatrician, Local Health Unit, Chioggia, Venice, Italy
| | - Luciana Indinnimeo
- Pediatric Department "Sapienza", University of Rome, Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Lo Vecchio
- Departement of Translational Medical Sciences, Federico II University, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesco Macrì
- Department of Pediatrics "Sapienza", University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Roberto Mattina
- Department of Biomedical, Surgical, and Odontoiatric Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Michele Miraglia Del Giudice
- Department of Woman and Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy
| | - Guido Morbin
- Family Pediatrician, Local Health Unit, Trento, Italy
| | - Marco Antonio Motisi
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Andrea Novelli
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Anna Teresa Palamara
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Laura Panatta
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Angela Pasinato
- Family Pediatrician, Local Health Unit, Torri di Quartesolo, Vicenza, Italy
| | - Diego Peroni
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Paediatrics, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Katia Perruccio
- Pediatric Oncology Hematology, Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Perugia, Italy
| | - Giorgio Piacentini
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Dentistry, Gynecology and Pediatrics, Pediatric Clinic, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Massimo Pifferi
- Department of Pediatrics Pulmonology and Allergology Section University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Pignataro
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Emanuela Sitzia
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Tersigni
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Sara Torretta
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Irene Trambusti
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Paediatrics, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giulia Trippella
- Meyer University Hospital, Department of Health Science, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Diletta Valentini
- Department of Pediatric and Infectious Disease Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Sandro Valentini
- Family Pediatrician, Local Health Unit, Colle Val d'Elsa, Siena, Italy
| | | | - Maria Carmen Verga
- Family Pediatrician, Local Health Unit Salerno, Vietri sul Mare, Salerno, Italy
| | - Claudio Vicini
- Department of Head-Neck Surgery, Otolaryngology, Head-Neck and Oral Surgery Unit, Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital, Forlì, Italy
| | - Marco Zecca
- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - Alberto Villani
- Department of Pediatric and Infectious Disease Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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Hawke K, van Driel ML, Buffington BJ, McGuire TM, King D. Homeopathic medicinal products for preventing and treating acute respiratory tract infections in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018; 9:CD005974. [PMID: 30196554 PMCID: PMC6513540 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd005974.pub5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are common and may lead to complications. Most children experience between three and six ARTIs annually. Although these infections are self-limiting, symptoms can be distressing. Many treatments are used to control symptoms and shorten illness duration. Most have minimal benefit and may lead to adverse effects. Oral homeopathic medicinal products could play a role in childhood ARTI management if evidence for effectiveness is established. OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness and safety of oral homeopathic medicinal products compared with placebo or conventional therapy to prevent and treat acute respiratory tract infections in children. SEARCH METHODS We searched CENTRAL (2017, Issue 11) including the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1946 to 27 November 2017), Embase (2010 to 27 November 2017), CINAHL (1981 to 27 November 2017), AMED (1985 to December 2014), CAMbase (searched 29 March 2018), British Homeopathic Library (searched 26 June 2013 - no longer operating). We also searched the WHO ICTRP and ClinicalTrials.gov trials registers (29 March 2018), checked references, and contacted study authors to identify additional studies. SELECTION CRITERIA Double-blind, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or double-blind cluster-RCTs comparing oral homeopathy medicinal products with identical placebo or self-selected conventional treatments to prevent or treat ARTIs in children aged 0 to 16 years. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS We included eight RCTs of 1562 children receiving oral homeopathic medicinal products or a control treatment (placebo or conventional treatment) for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Four treatment studies examined the effect on URTI recovery, and four studies investigated the effect on preventing URTIs after one to three months of treatment, followed up for the remainder of the year. Two treatment and two prevention studies involved homeopaths individualising treatment. The other studies used predetermined, non-individualised treatments. All studies involved highly diluted homeopathic medicinal products.We found several limitations to the included studies, in particular methodological inconsistencies and high attrition rates, failure to conduct intention-to-treat analysis, selective reporting, and apparent protocol deviations. We assessed three studies as at high risk of bias in at least one domain, and many had additional domains with unclear risk of bias. Three studies received funding from homeopathy manufacturers; one support from a non-government organisation; two government support; one was cosponsored by a university; and one did not report funding support.Methodological inconsistencies and significant clinical and statistical heterogeneity precluded robust quantitative meta-analysis. Only four outcomes were common to more than one study and could be combined for analysis. Odds ratios (OR) were generally small with wide confidence intervals (CI), and the contributing studies found conflicting effects, so there was little certainty that the efficacy of the intervention could be ascertained. All studies assessed as at low risk of bias showed no benefit from oral homeopathic medicinal products; trials at uncertain and high risk of bias reported beneficial effects.We found low-quality evidence that non-individualised homeopathic medicinal products confer little preventive effect on ARTIs (OR 1.14, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.57). We found low-quality evidence from two individualised prevention studies that homeopathy has little impact on the need for antibiotic usage (N = 369) (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.35 to 1.76). We also assessed adverse events, hospitalisation rates and length of stay, days off school (or work for parents), and quality of life, but were not able to pool data from any of these secondary outcomes.There is insufficient evidence from two pooled individualised treatment studies (N = 155) to determine the effect of homeopathy on short-term cure (OR 1.31 favouring placebo, 95% CI 0.09 to 19.54; very low-quality evidence) and long-term cure rates (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.10 to 9.67; very low-quality evidence). Adverse events were reported inconsistently; however, serious events were not reported. One study found an increase in the occurrence of non-severe adverse events in the treatment group. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Pooling of two prevention and two treatment studies did not show any benefit of homeopathic medicinal products compared to placebo on ARTI recurrence or cure rates in children. We found no evidence to support the efficacy of homeopathic medicinal products for ARTIs in children. Adverse events were poorly reported, so conclusions about safety could not be drawn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Hawke
- The University of QueenslandPrimary Care Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine288 Herston Road, HerstonBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia4006
| | - Mieke L van Driel
- The University of QueenslandPrimary Care Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine288 Herston Road, HerstonBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia4006
- Bond UniversityCentre for Research in Evidence‐Based Practice (CREBP)Gold CoastQueenslandAustralia4229
- Ghent UniversityDepartment of Family Medicine and Primary Health CareCampus UZ 6K3, Corneel Heymanslaan 10GhentBelgium9000
| | - Benjamin J Buffington
- Wide Bay Hospital and Health ServiceDepartment of PaediatricsBundabergQueenslandAustralia4670
| | - Treasure M McGuire
- The University of QueenslandSchool of PharmacyPharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence20 Cornwall Street, WoolloongabbaBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia4102
- Mater Health ServicesMater Pharmacy Services (Practice & Development)South BrisbaneAustralia4101
- Bond UniversityFaculty of Health Sciences and MedicineUniversity Drive, RobinaGold CoastQueenslandAustralia4229
| | - David King
- The University of QueenslandPrimary Care Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine288 Herston Road, HerstonBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia4006
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Hawke K, van Driel ML, Buffington BJ, McGuire TM, King D. Homeopathic medicinal products for preventing and treating acute respiratory tract infections in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018; 4:CD005974. [PMID: 29630715 PMCID: PMC6513633 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd005974.pub4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are common and may lead to complications. Most children experience between three and six ARTIs each year. Although these infections are self limiting, the symptoms can be distressing. Many treatments are used to control symptoms and shorten the duration of illness. They often have minimal benefit and may lead to adverse effects. Oral homeopathic medicinal products could play a role in the treatment of ARTIs for children if evidence for effectiveness is established. OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness and safety of oral homeopathic medicinal products compared with placebo or conventional therapy to prevent and treat acute respiratory tract infections in children. SEARCH METHODS We searched CENTRAL (2017, Issue 11), which contains the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1946 to 27 November 2017), Embase (2010 to 27 November 2017), CINAHL (1981 to 27 November 2017), AMED (1985 to December 2014), CAMbase (searched 29 March 2018), British Homeopathic Library (searched 26 June 2013 - no longer operating). We also searched the WHO ICTRP and ClinicalTrials.gov trials registers (29 March 2018), checked references, and contacted study authors to identify additional studies. SELECTION CRITERIA Double-blind, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or double-blind cluster-RCTs comparing oral homeopathy medicinal products with identical placebo or self selected conventional treatments to prevent or treat ARTIs in children aged 0 to 16 years. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS We included eight RCTs of 1562 children receiving oral homeopathic medicinal products or a control treatment (placebo or conventional treatment) for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Four treatment studies examined the effect on recovery from URTIs, and four studies investigated the effect on preventing URTIs after one to three months of treatment and followed up for the remainder of the year. Two treatment and two prevention studies involved homeopaths individualising treatment for children. The other studies used predetermined, non-individualised treatments. All studies involved highly diluted homeopathic medicinal products.We found several key limitations to the included studies, in particular methodological inconsistencies and high attrition rates, failure to conduct intention-to-treat analysis, selective reporting, and apparent protocol deviations. We assessed three studies as at high risk of bias in at least one domain, and many had additional domains with unclear risk of bias. Three studies received funding from homeopathy manufacturers; one reported support from a non-government organisation; two received government support; one was cosponsored by a university; and one did not report funding support.Methodological inconsistencies and significant clinical and statistical heterogeneity precluded robust quantitative meta-analysis. Only four outcomes were common to more than one study and could be combined for analysis. Odds ratios (OR) were generally small with wide confidence intervals (CI), and the contributing studies found conflicting effects, so there was little certainty that the efficacy of the intervention could be ascertained. All studies assessed as at low risk of bias showed no benefit from oral homeopathic medicinal products; trials at uncertain and high risk of bias reported beneficial effects.We found low-quality evidence that non-individualised homeopathic medicinal products confer little preventive effect on ARTIs (OR 1.14, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.57). We found low-quality evidence from two individualised prevention studies that homeopathy has little impact on the need for antibiotic usage (N = 369) (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.35 to 1.76). We also assessed adverse events, hospitalisation rates and length of stay, days off school (or work for parents), and quality of life, but were not able to pool data from any of these secondary outcomes.There is insufficient evidence from two pooled individualised treatment studies (N = 155) to determine the effect of homeopathy on short-term cure (OR 1.31, 95% CI 0.09 to 19.54; very low-quality evidence) and long-term cure rates (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.10 to 9.96; very low-quality evidence). Adverse events were reported inconsistently; however, serious events were not reported. One study found an increase in the occurrence of non-severe adverse events in the treatment group. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Pooling of two prevention and two treatment studies did not show any benefit of homeopathic medicinal products compared to placebo on recurrence of ARTI or cure rates in children. We found no evidence to support the efficacy of homeopathic medicinal products for ARTIs in children. Adverse events were poorly reported, so conclusions about safety could not be drawn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Hawke
- The University of QueenslandPrimary Care Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine288 Herston Road, HerstonBrisbaneAustralia4006
| | | | | | | | - David King
- The University of QueenslandPrimary Care Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine288 Herston Road, HerstonBrisbaneAustralia4006
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Chicoulaa B, Haas H, Viala J, Salvetat M, Olives JP. How French general practitioners manage and prevent recurrent respiratory tract infections in children: the SOURIRRE survey. Int J Gen Med 2017; 10:61-68. [PMID: 28293116 PMCID: PMC5345982 DOI: 10.2147/ijgm.s125806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recurrent respiratory tract infections (RRTIs) are the most common reason for children's visits to primary care physicians in France; however, little is known about general practitioners' (GPs) opinions and expectations concerning the management and prevention of these common and recurrent pathologies. PURPOSE To describe French GPs' daily practice in the management of respiratory infections and the prevention of their recurrence in children. METHODS A sample group of French GPs answered a structured questionnaire on risk factors, RRTI management, antibiotic use and prevention measures. RESULTS A total of 358 GPs participated in the survey. Rhinopharyngitis, the most frequent respiratory infection, was considered to be recurrent if six or more episodes occurred in a year. Four risk factors were acknowledged as substantial: living in communities, passive smoking, pollution and allergies. Around 63% of GPs said that RRTIs are too often treated with antibiotics. More than 85% thought that prevention of RRTIs is possible. Smoking cessation, vaccination, allergen avoidance and hygiene were identified as the main preventive measures. A large majority of GPs (84%) prescribed products for prevention and ~90% would prescribe a product stimulating immunity if the efficacy and tolerability of these agents was proven and confirmed in their daily practice. CONCLUSIONS French GPs are well aware of the health and socioeconomic burdens resulting from RRTIs, as well as the risk of antibiotic overuse. They have a prevention-oriented approach, implement preventive measures when possible and prescribe products for prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hervé Haas
- Paediatric Emergency and Infectious Disease Departments, Lenval University Hospital, Nice
| | - Jérôme Viala
- Gastroenterology Department, Robert-Debré Hospital, Paris
| | | | - Jean-Pierre Olives
- Gastroenterology and Nutrition Department, Children's Hospital, University Hospital, Toulouse, France
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