Question | Study groups | Outcomes at 1–7 days (5 trials) | Weighted EER | Weighted CER | RBR (95% CI) | NNH |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conclusion: in patients with acute upper respiratory infection, antibiotics are no more beneficial in terms of general improvement than placebo and are associated with a non-significant increase in adverse effects. | ||||||
*EER = experimental event rate, CER = control event rate, RBR = relative benefit reduction, RRI = relative risk increase, NS = not statistically significant.; RBR, RRI, NNH, and CI calculated from data in article. | ||||||
In patients with acute respiratory tract infections, what is the efficacy and safety of antibiotics (compared with placebo) in curing infection and improving nasopharyngeal symptoms? | Experimental: antibiotics (tetracycline, penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, erythromycin, and cotrimoxizole) Control: placebo | General improvement | 51.2% | 52.5% | 2% (−5 to 10) | NS |
RRI (CI) | ||||||
Adverse effects | 9.7% | 3.6% | 82% (−25 to 340) | NS |