Is honey an effective treatment for acute cough in children?
Cough represents one of the most common reasons for pediatrician consultations. There are many available treatments for symptomatic relief, including honey. Despite its wide availability, there is little knowledge about its benefits. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening 30 databases, we identified three systematic reviews including three randomized trials. We combined the evidence using meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table following the GRADE approach. We concluded the use of honey probably decreases the severity and frequency of cough, improves the quality of parent's and patient's sleep, and does not have side effects.
Faculta de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Lira 63, Santiago Centro, Chile. Email: carreno.monica@gmail.com.
María Pía
MP
Nitsche
Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile; Departamento de Pediatría, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Mónica
M
Carreño
D000208:Acute Disease; D000996:Antitussive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002648:Child; D003371:Cough / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006722:Honey; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000996:Antitussive Agents