Common cold.
BACKGROUND
Each year, children suffer up to 5 colds and adults have 2-3 infections, leading to time off school or work, and considerable discomfort. Most symptoms resolve within a week, but coughs often persist for longer.


METHODS
We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of treatments for common cold? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to May 2007 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).


RESULTS
We found 19 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.


CONCLUSIONS
In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: analgesics or anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, antihistamines, decongestants (norephedrine, oxymetazoline, or pseudoephedrine), decongestants plus antihistamine, echinacea, steam inhalation, vitamin C, and zinc (intranasal gel or lozenges).
Arroll
Bruce
B
Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, Auckland, New Zealand.
D000208:Acute Disease; D003139:Common Cold / Q000188:drug therapy; D003371:Cough / Q000188:drug therapy; D020900:Echinacea; D006801:Humans; D014663:Nasal Decongestants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010665:Phenylpropanolamine / Q000627:therapeutic use
D014663:Nasal Decongestants; D010665:Phenylpropanolamine