SynthesisThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews2001
Antibiotics for acute asthma.
Synthesis in The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2001. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 79 citations in OpenAlex.
- Does antibiotic treatment duration affect the outcomes of exacerbations of asthma and COPD? A systematic review.Chronic respiratory disease · 2018Pooled it
- Antibiotics for exacerbations of asthma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Commercial versus home-made spacers in delivering bronchodilator therapy for acute therapy in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2008Pooled it
- Exacerbation of Asthma Among Pediatric Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Current practices in children with severe acute asthma across European PICUs: an ESPNIC survey.European journal of pediatrics · 2020Article
- Management of severe asthma exacerbation: guidelines from the Société Française de Médecine d'Urgence, the Société de Réanimation de Langue Française and the French Group for Pediatric Intensive Care and Emergencies.Annals of intensive care · 2019Review
- The microbiome and critical illness.The Lancet. Respiratory medicine · 2016Review
- The bacterial microbiota in inflammatory lung diseases.Clinical immunology (Orlando, Fla.) · 2015Review
- Guidelines for diagnosis and management of bronchial asthma: Joint ICS/NCCP (I) recommendations.Lung India : official organ of Indian Chest Society · 2015Article
- Influence of lung function on course of disease and response to antibiotic therapy in adult primary care patients with acute cough: a post hoc analysis of patients enrolled in a prospective multicentre study.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2014Observational
- The role of the microbiome in exacerbations of chronic lung diseases.Lancet (London, England) · 2014Review
- Can appropriate diagnosis and treatment of childhood asthma reduce excessive antibiotic usage?Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre · 2014Article
- Audit of acute asthma management at the Paediatric Emergency Department at Wad Madani Children's Hospital, Sudan.Sudanese journal of paediatrics · 2012Article
- An integrative review of systematic reviews related to the management of breathlessness in respiratory illnesses.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2010Review
- Article
- Bronchodilator treatment and deaths from asthma: case-control study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2005Article
- Treatment, outcomes and costs of asthma exacerbations in Chilean children: a prospective multicenter observational study.Allergologia et immunopathologiaObservational
Corrections and comments
- Updated by
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAntibiotics are often prescribed to patients who are admitted to hospital with acute asthma. Their exacerbation is often precipitated by a viral upper respiratory infection (URTI), but in some instances antibiotics are prescribed in spite of questionable efficacy. A lack of strong evidence either to support or to refute the use of treatments in acute asthma leaves room for discussion and debate as to how effective antibiotics are in an acute setting. This review assesses what evidence is available.
objectivesTo determine the efficacy of antibiotics prescribed in the treatment of acute asthma SEARCH STRATEGY: Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL) were searched to identify all possible randomised control trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: Only RCTs or quasi RCTs were eligible for inclusion. Studies were included if patients were treated for acute asthma in the ED or its equivalent with antibiotics or placebo. Two reviewers independently assessed articles for potential relevance, final inclusion, and methodological quality. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers completed trial quality assessment and data extraction independently. MAIN
resultsFrom 128 potential studies, two trials were identified for inclusion in the review. Both trials reported numbers of exacerbations and not patient numbers due to re admissions over the course of the trials. The total number of patients in this review was 97, but values were recorded for 115 exacerbations. REVIEWER'S
conclusionsThe role of antibiotics in the treatment of acute asthma is difficult to assess from the current literature. Recommendations regarding antibiotic use in acute asthma will remain consensus driven until more research is conducted which includes larger numbers of patients.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.