Echinacea is ineffective in treating children's colds - Brief Article

AORN Journal,  Feb, 2004  

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Echinacea is ineffective in shortening the duration or decreasing the severity of upper respiratory infections (URIs) in children, according to a Dec 2, 2003, news release from JAMA. Upper respiratory infections are a significant health burden in childhood; the average child has six to eight colds each year, each lasting seven to nine days.

Although children frequently are given medications such as decongestants, antihistamines, and cough suppressants to reduce symptoms, there is little evidence that these medications are effective in children younger than 12 years of age. An estimated 11% to 21% of children in the United States and Canada who are treated by conventional physicians also receive alternative therapies. Echinacea, one of the most commonly used herbal remedies in the United States, has been used extensively for prevention and treatment of URIs in adults.

Study results showed there was no difference in duration between URIs treated with echinacea or those treated with placebo and no difference in the overall estimate of severity of URI symptoms between the two treatment groups. In addition, there were no significant differences between the two groups for peak severity of symptoms, number of days of peak symptoms, number of days of fever, or parental global assessment of severity of the URI. Finally, there was no difference in the rate of adverse events reported in the two treatment groups, although rashes were reported by 7.1% of patients with URIs who were treated with echinacea and 2.7% of those treated with placebo.

Echinacea Not Effective in Treating Colds in Children (news release, Chicago: JAMA, Dec 2, 2003) http://pubs.ama.assn.org/media/2003j/1202.dtl#echinacea (accessed 8 Dec 2003).

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