SynthesisAnnals of family medicine
How long does a cough last? Comparing patients' expectations with data from a systematic review of the literature.
Synthesis in Annals of family medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
34 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Eliciting parents' decision-making to antibiotic use for upper respiratory tract infections: A discrete choice experiment.Journal of global health · 2024Pooled it
- Ivy leaves extract EA 575 in the treatment of cough during acute respiratory tract infections: meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials.Scientific reports · 2022Pooled it
- Ivy leaf (Hedera helix) for acute upper respiratory tract infections: an updated systematic review.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- Prevalence, aetiologies and prognosis of the symptom cough in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC family practice · 2021Pooled it
- Bairui granules versus Reyanning granules in adults with acute bronchitis: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, comparative trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Trial
- Article
- Antibiotics Not Associated with Shorter Duration or Reduced Severity of Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection.Journal of general internal medicine · 2024Article
- Mapping the evidence about the natural history of acute infections commonly seen in primary care and managed with antibiotics: a scoping review.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Climate-conscious inhaler prescribing for family physicians.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2024Review
- The effects of greater frequency of two most prevalent bothersome acute respiratory symptoms on health-related quality of life in the 2020 US general population.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2023Article
- The Procalcitonin-guided Antibiotics in Respiratory Infections (PARI) project in general practice - a study protocol.BMC primary care · 2022Article
- Effects of Pelargonium sidoides extract EPs 7630 on acute cough and quality of life - a meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials.Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine · 2022Article
- Prescribing inhalers: Choosing Wisely Canada interview with Dr Kimberly Wintemute.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2021Article
- Perceptions of the Benefits and Risks of Antibiotics Among Adult Patients and Parents With High Antibiotic Utilization.Open forum infectious diseases · 2020Article
- Recent progress in the management of chronic cough.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2020Review
- Clinical management decisions for adults with prolonged acute cough: Frequency and associated factors.The American journal of emergency medicine · 2019Observational
- Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diagnosis and Management of Cough-Chinese Thoracic Society (CTS) Asthma Consortium.Journal of thoracic disease · 2018Review
- Antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) in primary care; what factors affect prescribing and why is it important? A narrative review.Irish journal of medical science · 2018Review
- Nursing home nurses' and community-dwelling older adults' reported knowledge, attitudes, and behavior toward antibiotic use.BMC nursing · 2017Article
- A mixed methods study to understand patient expectations for antibiotics for an upper respiratory tract infection.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeWe hypothesized that antibiotic overuse for acute cough illness (ACI) is in part due to a mismatch between patients' expectations and the natural history of ACI.
methodsWe performed a population-based random digit dialing survey of 493 adults in Georgia to determine their expectations regarding the duration of ACI. We also performed a systematic review of observational studies and the placebo or untreated control groups of randomized controlled trials to determine the duration of ACI from the published medical literature. We included studies of otherwise healthy adults with undifferentiated ACI, no clear bacterial cause, data on at least 1 cough outcome, and at least 1 week of follow-up.
resultsThe mean duration of cough in the published literature was 17.8 days. Survey respondents reported a median duration of 5 to 7 days and a mean duration of 7.2 to 9.3 days depending on the specific scenario. Patients expecting a longer duration of illness were more likely to be white, female, and have self-reported asthma or chronic lung disease. Independent predictors of the belief that antibiotics are always helpful included nonwhite race (OR = 1.82, 95% CI, 1.14-2.92), some college education or less (OR = 2.08, 95% CI, 1.26-3.45), and previous antibiotics for ACI (OR = 2.20, 95% CI, 1.34-3.55).
conclusionsThere is a mismatch between patients' expectations regarding the duration of ACI and the actual duration based on the best available evidence. Efforts to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use should target this discrepancy.
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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.