Nonprescription medications for respiratory symptoms: Facts and marketing fictions
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There are many nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medications available on pharmacy shelves marketed for relief of respiratory symptoms. The number of such medications has been increasing.
OBJECTIVE: This review provides an evidence-based examination of OTC products used for respiratory symptoms.
METHODS: Antihistamines, decongestants, mucolytics, antitussives, and intranasal steroids were selected as the most common OTC medications taken by adults and children for various respiratory symptoms. Controlled clinical trials of efficacy were identified by searching a medical literature data base. Those trials and key publications related to the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the products were reviewed.
RESULTS: Comparisons of the various OTC antihistamines' ability to suppress the effects of histamine were related to their clinical benefit. Intranasal corticosteroids are the preferred agents for maintenance therapy of persistent nasal congestion and are highly effective for symptoms of inhalant allergy other than allergic conjunctivitis. The disconnect between marketing claims and evidence was demonstrated for antihistamines and oral alpha-1 adrenergic agonist decongestants. Data for OTC mucolytics and antitussives were insufficient to justify their use based on the evidence.
CONCLUSION: There was little relationship between marketing claims and evidence regarding OTC medications used for respiratory symptoms. Analysis of data supported cetirizine,…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Cross-Sectional Study Among Medical Students on Application, Education, and Ethical Aspects
- Information quality of videos related to esophageal cancer on tiktok, kwai, and bilibili: a cross-sectional study
- The quality and reliability of short videos about hypertension on TikTok: a cross-sectional study
- Quality and reliability evaluation of pancreatic cancer-related video content on social short video platforms: a cross-sectional study
- Quality and reliability of pediatric pneumonia related short videos on mainstream platforms: cross-sectional study
- Association between metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR) and hypertension: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES 2007–2018
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.