Abstract
Two hundred and twelve adults with cough and purulent sputum of up to one week's duration were allocated randomly to treatment with doxycycline or placebo capsules for up to 10 days. Cough, purulent sputum, feeling "off colour," and time off work lasted as long in treatment and control groups, but running nose persisted for a shorter time in the doxycycline group. The number of new episodes of lower respiratory tract infections, vaginal infections, gastrointestinal upsets, and otitis media over the next six months were the same in both groups, but fewer new upper respiratory infections were experienced by the doxycycline-treated patients. There is no consensus among doctors about using antibiotics in patients with cough and purulent sputum, and these results indicate that otherwise healthy people with these symptoms will usually get better without antibiotic treatment.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- ANDREWES C. H. THE COMPLEX EPIDEMIOLOGY OF RESPIRATORY VIRUS INFECTIONS. Science. 1964 Dec 4;146(3649):1274–1277. doi: 10.1126/science.146.3649.1274. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Aitchison W. R., Grant I. W., Gould J. C. Treatment of acute exacerbations in chronic bronchitis. Br J Clin Pract. 1968 Aug;22(8):343–345. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- CROMBIE D. L. The Procrustean bed of medical nomenclature. Lancet. 1963 Jun 1;1(7292):1205–1206. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(63)92501-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- GARDNER P. S., STANFIELD J. P., WRIGHT A. E., COURT S. D., GREEN C. A. Viruses, bacteria, and respiratory disease in children. Br Med J. 1960 Apr 9;1(5179):1077–1081. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5179.1077. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gordon M., Lovell S., Dugdale A. E. The value of antibiotics in minor respiratory illness in children. A controlled trial. Med J Aust. 1974 Mar 2;1(9):304–306. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]