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Antibiotics for acute bronchitisFahey T, Smucny J, Becker L, Glazier R
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SummaryAntibiotics help some people recover a bit more quickly from bronchitis, but they can cause adverse effects, such as nausea and vomitingAcute bronchitis is one of the most common illnesses and treating it with antibiotics is controversial, but common. In healthy communities, there is little evidence of bacterial infection in people with bronchitis, but there is no practical test to distinguish between bacterial and viral bronchitis. The review found that some people treated with antibiotics recovered a bit more quickly. However, antibiotics were also more likely to produce adverse effects, such as nausea and vomiting.
This is a Cochrane review abstract and plain language summary, prepared and maintained by The Cochrane Collaboration, currently published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008 Issue 3, Copyright © 2008 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.. The full text of the review is available in The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1464-780X).
This version first published online:
October 20. 1997 AbstractBackgroundAntibiotic treatment of acute bronchitis, which is one of the most common illnesses seen in primary care, is controversial. Most clinicians prescribe antibiotics in spite of expert recommendations against this practice. ObjectivesThe objective of this review was to assess the effects of antibiotic treatment for patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute bronchitis. Search strategyIn this updated review, we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2004); MEDLINE (January 1966 to March 2004); EMBASE (January 2000 to December 2003); SciSearch from 1989 to 2004; reference lists of articles and the authors' personal collections up to 1996, and also wrote to study authors and drug manufacturers. EMBASE has previously been searched from 1974 to 2000). Selection criteriaRandomized controlled trials comparing any antibiotic therapy with placebo in acute bronchitis or acute productive cough without other obvious cause in patients without underlying pulmonary disease. Data collection and analysisAt least two reviewers extracted data and assessed trial quality. Authors were contacted for missing data. Main resultsNine trials involving over 750 patients aged eight to over 65 and including smokers and non-smokers were included in the primary analysis. The quality of the trials was variable. A variety of outcome measures were assessed. Overall, patients receiving antibiotics had better outcomes than did those receiving placebo. At a follow-up visit, they were less likely to have a cough (relative risk (RR) 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.49 to 0.85; number-needed-to-treat (NNT) 5; 95% CI 3 to 14), show no improvement on physician assessment (RR 0.52; 95% CI 0.31 to 0.87; NNT 14; 95% CI 8 to 50), or have abnormal lung findings (RR 0.48; 95% CI 0.26 to 0.89; NNT 11; 95% CI 6 to 50); and had shorter durations of cough (weighted mean difference 0.58 days; 95% CI 0.01 to 1.16 days), productive cough (weighted mean difference (WMD) 0.52 days; 95% CI 0.01 to 1.03 days), and feeling ill (WMD 0.58 days; 95% CI 0.00 to 1.16 days). There were no significant differences regarding the presence of night cough, productive cough, or activity limitations at follow up, or in the mean duration of activity limitations. The benefits of antibiotics were less apparent in a sensitivity analysis that included data from two other studies of patients with upper respiratory tract infections with productive cough. There was a non significant trend towards an increase in adverse effects in the antibiotic group, relative risk (RR) 1.22 (95% CI 0.94 to 1.58). Authors' conclusionsOverall, antibiotics appear to have a modest beneficial effect in patients who are diagnosed with acute bronchitis. The magnitude of this benefit, however, needs to be considered in the broader context of potential side effects, medicalization for a self-limiting condition, increased resistance to respiratory pathogens and cost of antibiotic treatment. |
