Table 5.
Effectiveness of advice strategies for analgesia on other outcomes in patients with acute respiratory tract infections
| Paracetamol crude data | Ibuprofen | Paracetamol and ibuprofen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude data | Adjusted* statistic (95% CI), P value | Crude mean (SD) | Adjusted* statistic (95% CI), P value | |||
| Crude mean (SD) temperature days 2-4 (n=439) | 36.6 (0.6) | 36.6 (0.6) | 0.07† (−0.06 to 0.19), 0.301 | 36.6 (0.5) | −0.07† (−0.20 to 0.06), 0.271 | |
| Crude median (25-7th centile) duration of symptoms rated moderately bad or worse (n=722) | 4 (3 to 7) | 4 (3 to 7) | 0.97‡ (0.79 to 1.19), 0.768 | 4 (3 to 7) | 0.98‡ (0.80 to 1.20), 0.853 | |
| No (%) using antibiotic (n=736) | 145/251 (58) | 145/254 (57) | 0.99§ (0.79 to 1.17), 0.891 | 140/239 (59) | 1.02§ (0.83 to 1.21), 0.803 | |
| No (%) reconsultation (with new or unresolved symptoms or complications within 1 month) | 35/300 (12) | 58/295 (20) | 1.67§ (1.12 to 2.38), 0.012 | 48/285 (17) | 1.49§ (0.98 to 2.18), 0.058 | |
| No (%) who believe in effectiveness of antibiotics | 116/138 (84) | 112/138 (81) | 0.95§ (0.80 to 1.05), 0.384 | 100/129 (78) | 0.90§ (0.74 to 1.02), 0.123 | |
| No (%) very satisfied with consultation | 82/96 (85) | 83/97 (86) | 1.00§ (0.84 to 1.09), 0.986 | 77/88 (88) | 1.02§ (0.86 to 1.10), 0.791 | |
*Models all controlled for baseline symptom severity, dosing, steam, antibiotic prescribing and smoking; duration model also controlled for previous duration of illness; temperature model also controlled for baseline temperature; model for return with unresolved symptoms also controlled for initial diagnosis. Denominators vary because of missing data.
†Adjusted difference.
‡Hazard ratio.
§Risk ratio.