Population: Healthy adults (without chronic lung disease or immunocompromising conditions) with the common cold.
Organization
Annals of Internal Medicine 2016
Recommendation
–Do not prescribe antibiotics for the common cold.
Practice Pearls
• Harm from antibiotics outweighs benefits, as all causes of common cold are viral.
• Evidence-based therapies for cold symptoms include the following:
- Ipratropium (4 puffs QID) for cough.
- NSAIDs for headache, earache, muscle, and joint pains.
- Acetaminophen for rhinorrhea.
- Decongestants, with or without antihistamines, for congestion.
- Zinc (80–92 mg/d within 3 d of symptom onset) to reduce duration.
- Honey, in children.
• Nasal saline, oral fluid intake, nasal oxymetazoline, and many herbal therapies lack quality evidence of efficacy.
• Therapies proven to be no more effective than placebo include antibiotics, antivirals, antihistamines, cough suppressants and expectorants, nasal steroids, steam, vitamins D and E, and echinacea.
Sources
–Am Fam Physician. 2019 Sep 1;100(5):281-289.