A controlled multi-centre study of herbal versus synthetic secretolytic drugs for acute bronchitis

Herbal expectorants and secretolytic drugs hold a sizeable share of the European market. Therefore it is essential to test their clinical effectiveness and safety. The aim of the present study was to compare the herbal medication Bronchipret(®) with various other pharmacotherapeutical options for acute bronchitis. The study was designed as a matched-pair comparison of 7783 patients. Clinical outcomes of bronchitis and adverse reactions were documented. The data were evaluated by comparing the treatment success of the test medication and 3 control groups using ordinal regression. The results suggest that clinical effectiveness of Bronchipret(®) was not less than with synthetic drugs. There was a tendency for better results with Bronchipret(®), particularly in the treatment of adults. Similar results were obtained with respect to adverse reactions. Particularly in the adult sub-group, these were markedly less with herbals as compared to synthetic drugs. These findings imply that a risk/benefit evaluation would favour Bronchipret(®) over synthetic drugs for acute bronchitis. Their interpretation is limited through the fact that this study could not be randomised nor blinded. The results therefore require confirmation through randomised, double-blind trials.