Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41234257›Full record

ReviewJournal of family & community medicine

Role of

Ahlam Mazi, Reem M Alqahtani

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of family & community medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

2 authors.

Ahlam MaziDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Reem M AlqahtaniDepartment of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Acute cough and respiratory tract infections (RTIs), common in children, often lead to high antibiotic use. Echinacea, an herbal alternative, has been studied for its immune-modulating and antiviral effects to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics. This systematic review analyzed randomized controlled trials on Echinacea for pediatric acute cough and RTIs. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Semantic Scholar, and Google Scholar were searched on October 15, 2024. Five studies met all inclusion criteria and were retained for qualitative synthesis. The studies generally showed some concerns of bias in randomization and allocation concealment, as well as some issues about blinding and selective reporting. Grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation assessment indicated high certainty of the reduction of symptom duration and antibiotic use, and moderate certainty for the prevention of infection. Evidence suggests that Echinacea purpurea, especially at higher doses (e.g., 2000 mg/day), may reduce RTI incidence, viral load, and symptom severity. Several trials have reported fewer antibiotic prescriptions and shorter fever duration, indicating public health benefits. Efficacy varied by formulation, extraction, and dosing, with tablet-based and hydroethanolic extracts showing more consistent results. Echinacea was well tolerated, only producing mild adverse effects of gastrointestinal discomfort and skin rashes. Some studies showed no significant difference from placebo, which underlines the need for standardized dosing and formulation. Overall, Echinacea may be a useful adjunct for pediatric RTI prevention and management, but further large, high-quality trials are needed to confirm optimal use, efficacy, and safety.

Indexed as

Acute coughEchinaceaEchinacea purpureaherbal medicine in childrenherbal treatments for coughpediatric respiratory infectionsupper respiratory tract infections

Identifiers

PMID41234257
PMCPMC12611053

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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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.