Penicillin for acute sore throat in children: randomised, double blind trial
Little, P. (2003) Penicillin for acute sore throat in children: randomised, double blind trial. British Medical Journal, 327, (7427), 1327-1328. (doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7427.1324).
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Description/Abstract
Objective: To assess the effectiveness of penicillin for three days
and treatment for seven days compared with placebo in
resolving symptoms in children with sore throat.
Design: Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial.
Setting: 43 family practices in the Netherlands.
Participants: 156 children aged 4-15 who had a sore throat for
less than seven days and at least two of the four Centor criteria
(history of fever, absence of cough, swollen tender anterior
cervical lymph nodes, and tonsillar exudate).
Interventions Patients were randomly assigned to penicillin for
seven days, penicillin for three days followed by placebo for
four days, or placebo for seven days.
Main outcome measures: Duration of symptoms, mean
consumption of analgesics, number of days of absence from
school, occurrence of streptococcal sequelae, eradication of the
initial pathogen, and recurrences of sore throat after six months.
Results Penicillin treatment was not more beneficial than
placebo in resolving symptoms of sore throat, neither in the
total group nor in the 96 children with group A streptococci. In
the groups randomised to seven days of penicillin, three days of
penicillin, or placebo, one, two, and eight children, respectively,
experienced a streptococcal sequela.
Conclusion: Penicillin treatment had no beneficial effect in
children with sore throat on the average duration of symptoms.
Penicillin may, however, reduce streptococcal sequelae.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| ISSNs: | 0959-8138 (print) |
| Related URLs: | |
| Keywords: | therapeutic use, health, drug therapy, pharyngitis, double-blind, humans, penicillins |
| Subjects: | R Medicine |
| Divisions: | University Structure - Pre August 2011 > School of Medicine > Community Clinical Sciences |
| Item ID: | 61953 |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Sep 2008 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Mar 2012 13:55 |
| Contributors: | Little, P. (Author) |
| Date: | 2003 |
| Status: | Published |
| URI: | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/61953 |
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