bronchitis and antibiotics vs ibuprofen
recent online article in BMJ finding lack of efficacy of antibiotics or ibuprofen on acute bronchitis with discolored sputum (see bronchitis and antibiotics bmj 2013 in dropbox, or BMJ 2013;347:f5762 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f5762). 416 adults aged 18-70 in primary care centers in spain with sx of respiratory tract infection of less than 1 week, cough predominant with discolored sputum, and at least one other sx suggesting lower resp tract infection (dyspnea, wheezing, chest discomfort or pain). chest xray not required to r/o pneumonia -- the dx of acute bronchitis was a clinical one. randomized to ibuprofen 600 TID, amox/clavulanic acid 500/125 TID, or placebo for 10 days. patients reported sx in diary. overall, 40% of patients were smokers, 10% had diabetes, 8% with fever, >50% had increased CRP with 25% quite high CRP (>21). results --median # days from the initial presentation of frequent cough slightly decreased with ibuprofen (9 days) vs th...