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Intranasal ipratropium bromide for the common cold.
Zaina H Albalawi1, Sahar S Othman, Khalid Alfaleh
1Sheikh Abdullah S. Bahamdan Research Chair for Evidence-Based Health Care and Knowledge Translation, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 68639, Riyadh, Central, Saudi Arabia, 11537.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|July 8, 2011
Summary
Intranasal ipratropium bromide (IB) effectively reduces common cold rhinorrhoea but does not improve nasal congestion. While side effects like nasal dryness occurred more frequently with IB, they were generally mild and self-limiting.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Respiratory Medicine
- Clinical Trials
Background:
- The common cold is a prevalent illness causing significant economic burden.
- Current treatments focus on symptomatic relief as no cure exists.
- Intranasal ipratropium bromide (IB) is being investigated as a potential cold treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of intranasal ipratropium bromide (IB) compared to placebo or no treatment.
- To assess the impact of IB on rhinorrhoea and nasal congestion severity in common cold patients.
- To determine the effect of IB on overall symptom improvement and report side effects.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing IB to placebo or no treatment.
- Searched multiple databases including CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, Biosis, and LILACS.
- Data extraction and quality assessment performed independently by two reviewers.
Main Results:
- Seven RCTs involving 2144 participants were analyzed.
- IB significantly reduced rhinorrhoea severity compared to placebo.
- No significant effect on nasal congestion was observed; however, side effects were more frequent with IB.
Conclusions:
- Intranasal ipratropium bromide (IB) shows potential for alleviating rhinorrhoea in common colds.
- IB does not improve nasal congestion and is associated with increased, though generally mild, side effects.
- Larger, high-quality trials are needed to confirm IB's effectiveness and safety profile.
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