SynthesisThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews2000
Antibiotics for acute bronchitis.
Synthesis in The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2000. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of a multiple intervention to reduce antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract symptoms in primary care: randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2004Trial
- Variation in antibiotic prescribing and its impact on recovery in patients with acute cough in primary care: prospective study in 13 countries.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2009Article
- General practitioners' perceptions of introducing near-patient testing for common infections into routine primary care: a qualitative study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2008Article
- Can antibiotic prescriptions in respiratory tract infections be improved? A cluster-randomized educational intervention in general practice--the Prescription Peer Academic Detailing (Rx-PAD) Study [NCT00272155].BMC health services research · 2006Article
- Agreement between emergency physician diagnosis and radiologist reports in patients discharged from an emergency department with community-acquired pneumonia.Emergency radiology · 2005Article
- [Suitability of antibiotic prescription in primary care in the Basque Autonomous Community].Atencion primaria · 2001Article
- Acute bronchitis: a review of diagnosis and evidence-based management.Primary care update for Ob/GynsArticle
Corrections and comments
- Updated by
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAntibiotic treatment of acute bronchitis, which is one of the most common illnesses seen in primary care, is controversial. Most clinicians prescribe antibiotics in spite of expert recommendations against this practice.
objectivesPeople with acute bronchitis may show little evidence of bacterial infection. If effective, antibiotics could shorten the course of the disease. However if they are not effective, the risk of antibiotic resistance may be increased. The objective of this review was to assess the effects of antibiotic treatment for patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute bronchitis. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched Medline, Embase, reference lists of articles and the authors' personal collections up to 1996, and Scisearch from 1989 to 1996. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised trials comparing any antibiotic therapy with placebo in acute bronchitis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: At least two reviewers extracted data and assessed trial quality. MAIN
resultsEight trials involving 750 patients aged eight to over 65 and including smokers and non-smokers were included. The quality of the trials was variable. A variety of outcome measures were assessed. In many cases, only outcomes that showed a statistically significant difference between groups were reported. Overall, patients receiving antibiotics had slightly better outcomes than did those receiving placebo. They were less likely to report feeling unwell at a follow up visit (odds ratio 0.42, 95% confidence interval 0.22 to 0.82), to show no improvement on physician assessment (odds ratio 0.43; 0.23 to 0.79), or to have abnormal lung findings (odds ratio 0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.13 to 0.86), and had a more rapid return to work or usual activities (weighted mean difference 0.7 days earlier, 95% confidence interval 0.2 to 1. 3). Antibiotic-treated patients reported significantly more adverse effects (odds ratio 1.64; 1.05 to 2.57) such as nausea, vomiting, headache, skin rash or vaginitis. REVIEWER'S
conclusionsAntibiotics appear to have a modest beneficial effect in the treatment of acute bronchitis, with a corresponding small risk of adverse effects. The benefits of antibiotics may be overestimated in this analysis because of the tendency of published reports to include complete data on only the outcomes found to be statistically significant.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.