Antibiotics are unlikely to alter clinical course of acute cough

Antibiotics are unlikely to alter clinical course of acute cough

Patients who have acute cough, with or without sputum, often consult their general practitioner and many request and receiveantibiotics . On p 906 Fahey et al report a systematic reviewof randomised controlled trials comparing antibiotics with placebo.They found that antibiotics were no better than placebo in reducingcough or altering clinical outcome. Furthermore, antibiotics wereassociated with side effects.

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Quantitative systematic review of randomised controlled trials comparing antibiotic with placebo for acute cough in adults: Tom Fahey, Nigel Stocks, and Toby Thomas
BMJ 1998 316: 906-910. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]