LONDON (Reuters) – Children suffering from a common cold
and persistent runny noise should not be treated initially with
antibiotics, researchers said on Friday.
They suggested antibiotics, which can sometimes cause side
effects such as vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, should
only be prescribed if the youngsters do not improve.
“Most patients will get better without antibiotics,” Bruce
Arroll of the University of Auckland in New Zealand said in a
report in the British Medical Journal.
The overuse of antibiotics has lead to concerns about the
emergence of so-called superbugs that are resistant to the most
powerful antibiotics.
Arroll and his colleague Tim Kenealy reviewed seven studies
that looked at the effectiveness or harm of treating acute
purulent rhinitis, a runny nose with a colored discharge, with
antibiotics.
Although the drugs are probably effective for the problem,
they found that for each patient that will benefit from the
drugs six others will not.
“Our summation would be to suggest initial management by
non-antibiotic treatments or “watchful waiting” and that
antibiotics should be used only when symptoms have persisted
for long enough to concern parents or patients,” they said in
the report.
The researchers said their findings support current “no
antibiotic as first line” advice.
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