Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25238785›Full record

Trial reportTrials2014

Oral corticosteroid use for clinical and cost-effective symptom relief of sore throat: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Johanna Cook, Gail Hayward, Matthew Thompson, Alastair D Hay, Michael Moore, Paul Little, Kim Harman, Jane Wolstenholme, Rafael Perera, Merryn Voysey and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. A Utilitarian Perspective on Risk Quantification for Clinical Significance in Binary Outcomes.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Johanna Cook
Gail HaywardNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK. gail.hayward@phc.ox.ac.uk.
Matthew Thompson
Alastair D Hay
Michael Moore
Paul Little
Kim Harman
Jane Wolstenholme
Rafael Perera
Merryn Voysey
Julie Allen
Maria Breen
Carl Heneghan
University of Oxford · GBBroadmoor Hospital · GBUniversity of Bristol · GBSeattle University · US

Funding

Department of Health NIHR-RP-02-12-012
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundManagement of acute sore throat poses a significant burden on UK general practices, with almost 10% of registered patients attending their GP with sore throat every year. Nearly half of all patients presenting with acute sore throat are treated with antibiotics, despite their limited effect. In a recent systematic review we demonstrated that a single dose of steroids reduced the severity and time to resolution of sore throat. However, all of the trials included looked at the use of steroids alongside antibiotics and only one was in a primary care setting. This trial aims to assess the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a single oral dose of corticosteroids on symptoms of sore throat in patients receiving either a delayed antibiotic prescription or no antibiotics at all in UK primary care. METHODS/

designA double-blind, two arm, randomized, placebo controlled trial in adults (≥ 18 years of age) presenting to primary care with acute sore throat (<seven days). Participants are recruited on the day of presentation to their GP practice. GPs or nurses assess eligibility, record baseline clinical features and obtain a throat swab for bacterial culture. Participants are being randomized to treatment arms at a ratio of 1:1. Treatment arms will be stratified according to whether patients are being given a delayed antibiotic prescription or no antibiotic prescription and by recruiting centre (Oxford, Bristol or Southampton). Outcome data is being collected at 24 and 48 hours via text message or telephone call, from days 0 to 7 using a patient symptom diary and at one month via a GP notes review. DISCUSSION: This will be the first randomized controlled trial of oral corticosteroids in adults presenting to primary care with sore throat in the UK, and the first to examine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of oral corticosteroids for the treatment of sore throat in the absence of antibiotics.

trial registrationThis trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials on 26 March 2013, registration number: ISRCTN17435450.

Indexed as

Drug CostsResearch DesignAdministration, OralAdrenal Cortex HormonesAnti-Bacterial AgentsClinical ProtocolsCost-Benefit AnalysisDexamethasoneDouble-Blind MethodDrug Therapy, CombinationEnglandFemaleHumansMalePharyngitisPrimary Health CareAdrenal Cortex HormonesAnti-Bacterial AgentsDexamethasone

Identifiers

PMID25238785
PMCPMC4182852
OpenAlexW2099738146

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.