Trial reportEuropean journal of medical research2021
Echinacea reduces antibiotic usage in children through respiratory tract infection prevention: a randomized, blinded, controlled clinical trial.
Trial report in European journal of medical research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02971384 (Controlled, Randomized, Double-blind, Multicentre Study on Efficacy and Safety of Echinaforce Junior Tablets in Comparison With Vitamin C for the Prevention of Viral Respiratory Tract Infections in Children), which is not on this map. Cited by 25 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.
Controlled, Randomized, Double-blind, Multicentre Study on Efficacy and Safety of Echinaforce Junior Tablets in Comparison With Vitamin C for the Prevention of Viral Respiratory Tract Infections in Children (4-12 Years)
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Select Dietary Supplement Ingredients for Preserving and Protecting the Immune System in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Vitamin C supplementation for prevention and treatment of pneumonia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Vitamin C supplementation for prevention and treatment of pneumonia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Adelmidrol to fight upper airways inflammation in children: a pilot case control study to safety and efficacy.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Trial
- From Phytochemical Diversity to Clinical Translation: Preparation-Dependent Bioactivity ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- A Review of the Properties of Clinically Evaluated Plant-Derived Agents in the Treatment of Respiratory Infections.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Pharmacological Insights and Technological Innovations inPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Hidden connection: Impact of the gut microbiota on respiratory diseases in children (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Review
- The Use and Safety of Cough and Cold Medications in the Pediatric Population.The journal of pediatric pharmacology and therapeutics : JPPT : the official journal of PPAG · 2025Article
- Respiratory virus-induced bacterial dysregulation in pediatric airway tissue and the dual actions of Echinacea in reducing complications.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Phytochemistry, Mechanisms, and Preclinical Studies of Echinacea Extracts in Modulating Immune Responses to Bacterial and Viral Infections: A Comprehensive Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Practices: A Narrative Review Elucidating the Impact on Healthcare Systems, Mechanisms and Paediatric Applications.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Effects of Plant Polysaccharides Combined with Boric Acid on Digestive Function, Immune Function, Harmful Gas and Heavy Metal Contents in Faeces of Fatteners.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Echinacea Reduces Antibiotics by Preventing Respiratory Infections: A Meta-Analysis (ERA-PRIMA).Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Preventing social defeat stress-induced behavioural and neurochemical alterations by repeated treatment with a mix ofFrontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Therapeutic Effects of Vitamins and Nutritional Supplements on Sinusitis: A Narrative Review.Nutrition and metabolic insights · 2024Review
- Volatile Composition, Antimicrobial Activity, and In Vitro Innate Immunomodulatory Activity ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- ECHOPvir: A Mixture of Echinacea and Hop Extracts Endowed with Cytoprotective, Immunomodulatory and Antiviral Properties.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Modulation of Gut Microbiome as a Therapeutic Modality for Auditory Disorders.Audiology research · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn children, up to 30% of viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs) develop into bacterial complications associated with pneumonia, sinusitis or otitis media to trigger a tremendous need for antibiotics. This study investigated the efficacy of Echinacea for the prevention of viral RTIs, for the prevention of secondary bacterial complications and for reducing rates of antibiotic prescriptions in children.
methodsEchinaforce® Junior tablets [400 mg freshly harvested Echinacea purpurea alcoholic extract] or vitamin C [50 mg] as control were given three times daily for prevention to children 4-12 years. Two × 2 months of prevention were separated by a 1-week treatment break. Parents assessed respiratory symptoms in children via e-diaries and collected nasopharyngeal secretions for screening of respiratory pathogens (Allplex® RT-PCR).
resultsOverall, 429 cold days occurred in N
conclusionsOur results support the use of Echinacea for the prevention of RTIs and reduction of associated antibiotic usage in children. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02971384, 23th Nov 2016.
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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.