Trial reportRespiratory research2015
Efficacy and safety of iota-carrageenan nasal spray versus placebo in early treatment of the common cold in adults: the ICICC trial.
Trial report in Respiratory research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 49 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.
Efficacy and Safety of Iota-Carrageenan Nasal Spray 1.2 g/l (0.12 Percent) (Bisolviral) Versus Placebo Nasal Spray in the Early Treatment of Common Cold
Efficacy of Carrageenan Nasal and Throat Spray for COVID-19 Prophylaxis - A Double Blind Randomised Placebo-controlled Trial
Efficacy and Safety of Ibuprofen/Loratadine Fixed-dose Combination Versus the Fixed-dose Administration of Monotherapy as Symptomatic Treatment for Patients With the Common Cold
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 97 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays to protect healthcare workers when undertaking aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) on patients without suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Antimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays administered to patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection to improve patient outcomes and to protect healthcare workers treating them.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Use of antimicrobial mouthwashes (gargling) and nasal sprays by healthcare workers to protect them when treating patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Decongestant Effect of "Coldamaris Akut", a Carrageenan- and Sorbitol-Containing Nasal Spray in Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis.International journal of general medicine · 2024Trial
- Astodrimer sodium antiviral nasal spray for reducing respiratory infections is safe and well tolerated in a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Efficacy of a Nasal Spray Containing Iota-Carrageenan in the Postexposure Prophylaxis of COVID-19 in Hospital Personnel Dedicated to Patients Care with COVID-19 Disease.International journal of general medicine · 2021Trial
- The Saliva of Probands Sucking an Iota-Carrageenan Containing Lozenge Inhibits Viral Binding and Replication of the Most Predominant Common Cold Viruses and SARS-CoV-2.International journal of general medicine · 2021Trial
- Safety and Efficacy of 0.5% Carbomer 980 Gel for Treatment of Symptoms of Common Cold: Results of 2 Randomized Trials.Drugs in R&D · 2019Trial
- A pilot, open labelled, randomised controlled trial of hypertonic saline nasal irrigation and gargling for the common cold.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Carrageenan: Food Additive or Health Concern? A Comprehensive Review.Annals of nutrition & metabolism · 2026Review
- Dual-Action Niclosamide-Polysaccharide Nasal Spray for the Early Therapeutic Intervention of Respiratory Viral Infections.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Article
- Preparation, structure, and biological activity of sulfated polysaccharides from green algae in the Cladophoraceae (Cladophorales, Ulvophyceae).Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2025Review
- A pan-respiratory virus attachment inhibitor with high potency in human airway models and in vivo.Science advances · 2025Article
- Over-the-counter carrageenan-based sprays may interfere with PCR testing of nasopharyngeal swabs to detect SARS-CoV-2.PloS one · 2025Article
- Astodrimer sodium nasal spray forms a barrier to SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and preserves normal mucociliary function in human nasal epithelium.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Comparative study of HIV-1 inhibition efficiency by carrageenans from red seaweeds familyHeliyon · 2024Article
- Reduction of Viral Load in Patients with Acute Sore Throats: Results from an Observational Clinical Trial with Echinacea/Salvia Lozenges.Complementary medicine research · 2023Observational
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
unlabelledIota-carrageenan (I-C) is active against respiratory viruses in vitro and was effective as nasal spray in three previous clinical trials. The current trial served to further investigate I-C in patients with early common cold symptoms.
methodsThis randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind phase IV trial was conducted in 200 adult patients with self-diagnosed colds of <48 h' duration that were confirmed by baseline cold symptom scores. Patients were to self-administer 0.12 % I-C or placebo spray (NaCl 0.5 %) four times daily for four to ten days and record symptom information for ten days. Common respiratory viruses were quantified by RT-PCR during pretreatment and on Day 3 or 4. The primary endpoint was the mean total symptom score (TSS) of eight cold symptoms on Days 2-4 (TSS2-4).
resultsPatients in both treatment groups had similar baseline TSSs (mean TSS: 6.75 for I-C and 6.79 for placebo). Viruses were detected in baseline samples from 53 of 98 I-C patients (54.1 %) and 54 of 97 placebo patients (55.7 %). Mean ± SE for TSS2-4 was 5.78 ± 0.25 for I-C patients and 6.39 ± 0.25 for placebo (p = 0.0895). Exploratory analyses after unblinding (TSS2-4 excluding a patient with aberrantly high symptom scores [TSS2-4, ex 1pt]; mean of TSS over Days 1-4 [TSS1-4]; change in TSS1-4 relative to baseline [TSS1-4, rel]) demonstrated treatment differences in favor of I-C (p = 0.0364, p = 0.0495 and p = 0.0421, respectively). For patients with quantifiable rhinovirus/enterovirus at baseline, there was a trend towards greater reduction of virus load at Day 3 or 4 (p = 0.0958; I-C: 90.2 % reduction in viral load; placebo: 72.0 %). Treatments were well tolerated with no differences in adverse event rates.
conclusionsThe primary endpoint did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference between I-C and placebo but showed a trend towards I-C benefit. Exploratory analyses indicated significant reduction of cold symptoms in the I-C group relative to placebo during the first four days when symptoms were most severe, and also substantiated I-C's activity against rhinovirus/enterovirus.
trial registrationNCT01944631 (clinicaltrials.gov).
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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.