Toby Thomas died in a road traffic accident on 25 November 1996
The data below is exclusive to the BMJ website and did not appear in the printed version of the BMJ:
| Table 1 - Losses to follow up in antibiotic and placebo arms of randomised controlled trials included in systematic review | |||||||
| Reference* | Losses to follow up (%) Antibiotic | Placebo | Overall | Antibiotic (dose) | Outcome measured** | Trial quality | Trial favours antibiotic? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stott and West(21) | 2 | 3 | 2 | Doxycycline (100 mg bid on day 1, then one daily) | 1, 2, 3 | 8 | No |
| Franks and Gleiner(22) | 26 | 12 | 19 | Co-trimoxazole (trimethoprom/sulphamethoxazole 160/800 mg bid) | 3 | 9 | Yes |
| Williamson(23) | 5 | 9 | 7 | Doxycycline (100 mg tid on day 1, then one daily) | 1, 2 | 9 | No |
| Brickfield et al(24) | 4 | 4 | 4 | Erythromycin (enteric coated, 333 mg tid) | 2, 3 | 9 | No |
| Dunlay et al(25) | 34 | 23 | 29 | Erythromycin (enteric coated, 333 mg tid) | 1, 2, 3 | 9 | Yes |
| Verheij et al(26) | 8 | 10 | 9 | Doxycycline (100 mg bid on day 1, then one daily) | 1, 2, 3 | 11 | Yes |
| King et al(27) | 16 | 26 | 21 | Erythromycin (250 mg qid) | 1, 3 | 7 | No |
| Scherl et al(28) | DK | DK | 15 | Doxycycline (100 mg bid on day 1, then one daily) | 4 | 8 | No |
| M Stephenson (unpublished data) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Co-trimoxazole (dosage not stated) | 1 | 9 | No |
| DK=don't know, bid=twice daily, tid=thrice daily, qid=four times daily. *The reference numbers are the same as those in the version published in the journal. **=Proportion of subjects with productive cough, 2=proportion who did not improve clinically, 3=proportion reporting side effects of treatment, 4=mean number of days off work (not included in meta-analysis). |
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| Table 2 - Characteristics of patients enrolled in selected randomised controlled clinical trials. included in systematic review | ||||||||
| Reference* | Diagnosis in title | Age range (years) | % of eligible patients randomised | Smokers included? | % Stated that abnormal chest signs excluded? | Abnormal chest signs reported at randomisation? % | Placebo event rate (95% CI)** | Day of assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stott and West(21) | Cough and purulent sputum | >14 | 95 | Yes; unknown | Yes, "abnormal clinical signs of auscultation" | Not reported | (1) 31% (22% to 40%); (2) 17% (9% to 24%) | 7 |
| Franks and Gleiner(22) | Acute bronchitis | >14 | Not reported | Yes; 43% (A), 60% (P) | Yes, "clinical evidence of pneumonitis," but not qualified | Yes; wheeze/rhonchi present in 13% (A), 16% (P) | Average number of days reported (see text) | 7 |
| Williamson(23) | Acute bronchitis | 21-65 | 80 | Yes; 31% (A), 34% (P) | Yes, "signs of consolidation on examination" | Yes; rhonchi on examination in 27% (A), 27% (P) | (1) 55% (37% to 74%); (2) 33% (19% to 53%) | (1) 10; (2) 7-10** |
| Brickfield et al(24) | Acute bronchitis | 18-65 | 30 | Yes; 50% (A), 42% (P) | Yes, "evidence of pneumonia on chest x ray or examination" | Not reported | (2) 42% (22% to 63%) | 8 |
| Dunlay et al(25) | Acute bronchitis | >18 | 20 | Yes; 34% (A), 42% (P) | Yes, "clinical evidence of an infection" | Yes; abnormal results on lung examnation in 16% (A), 19% (P) | (1) 71% (49% to 87%); (2) 29% (11% to 52%) | 10 |
| Verheij et al(26) | Acute cough and purulent sputum | >18 | 76 | Yes; 53% (A), 52% (P) | Yes, pneumonia defined as severe dyspnoea and crackles | Yes; ausculatory abnormalities (rhonchi or course crackles) in 28% (A), 35% (P) | (1) 22% (13% to 54%); (2) 24% (14% to 35%) | 11 |
| King et al(27) | Acute bronchitis | >8 | 65 | Yes; 31% (A), 38% (P) | Partly, excluded localised crackles/wheezes, included diffuse crackles/wheezes | Yes; diffuse or intermittant rales, rhonchi, or wheeze in 39% (A), 55% (P) | (1) 87% (70% to 96%) | 10 |
| Scherl et al(28) | Acute bronchitis | >12 | Not reported | Yes; 50% (A), 27% (P) | Partly, patients with fever or crepitations had chest radiography and were excluded with evidence | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| M Stephenson (unpublished data) | Upper respiratory tract infection | 16-70 | Not reported | Yes; 29% (A), 39% (P) | Not reported | Yes; abnormal chest signs in 7.8% (A), 5% (P) | (1) 33% (23% to 44%) | 7 |
| A=antibiotic, P=placebo. *The reference numbers are the same as those in the version published in the journal. **=Productive cough present, 2=Not improved clinically. |
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Additional references to quasi-randomised controlled trials in adults, and other references found during search conducted for systematic review of acute cough
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9 Sutrisna B, Frerichs R R, Reingold A L. Randomised controlled trial of effectiveness of ampicillin in mild acute repiratory infections in Indonesian children. Lancet 1991;338:471-4.
10 Haight T H, Kahn F H, Ziegra S R. Efficacy of erythromycin in the treatment of acute respiratory infections. US Armed Forces Med J 1954;5:1405-22.
11 Hoaglund R J, Dietz E N, Myers P W, Costand H C. Aureomycin in the treatment of the common cold. N Engl J Med 1950;243:773-5.
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18 Cecil R L, Plummer N, Smillie W G. Sulfadiasine in treatment of common cold. JAMA 1944;124:8-14.
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20 McKerrow C B, Oldham P D, Thomson S. Antibiotics for the common cold. Lancet 1961;i:185-7.
21 Thalman W G, Kempe C, Worrall J A, Meiklejohn G. Aureomycin in treatment of influenza: controlled study. JAMA 1950;144:1156-7.
22 Rusk H A, Van Raversway A C. Sulfadiasine in respiratory tract infection. JAMA 1943;122:495-6.
23 Darelid J, Lofgren S, Malmvall B. Erythromycin treatment is beneficial for longstanding Moraxella catarrhalis associated cough in children. Scand J Infect Dis 1993;25:323-9.
24 McLane R A. Clinical evaluation of combined drug therapy in acute respiratory infections. Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey 1952;49:509-10.