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PubMed2005

Epidemiological relationships between the common cold and exacerbation frequency in COPD.

Higher exacerbation incidence rates in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with more rapid decline in lung function and poorer quality of life, yet the mechanisms determining susceptibility to exacerbation remain ill-defined. The same viruses responsible for common colds are frequently isolated during exacerbations. The current authors hypothesised that exacerbation frequency may be associated with an increased frequency of colds, and investigated whether increased exacerbation frequency was associated with increased acquisition of colds, or a greater likelihood of exacerbation once a cold has been acquired. A total of 150 patients with COPD completed diary cards recording peak expiratory flow, and respiratory and coryzal symptoms for a median 1,047 days. Annual cold and exacerbation incidence rates (cold and exacerbation frequency) were calculated, and the relationships between these variables were investigated. This analysis is based on 1,005 colds and 1,493 exacerbations. Frequent exacerbators (i.e. those whose exacerbation frequency was greater than the median) experienced significantly more colds than infrequent exacerbators (1.73 versus 0.94.yr(-1)). The likelihood of exacerbation during a cold was unaffected by exacerbation frequency. Patients experiencing frequent colds had a significantly higher exposure to cigarette smoke (46 versus 33 pack-yrs). Exacerbation frequency in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with an increased frequency of acquiring the common cold, rather than an increased propensity to exacerbation once a cold has been acquired.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Emotional style and susceptibility to the common cold.

OBJECTIVE: It has been hypothesized that people who typically report experiencing negative emotions are at greater risk for disease and those who typically report positive emotions are at less risk. We tested these hypotheses for host resistance to the common cold. METHODS: Three hundred thirty-four healthy volunteers aged 18 to 54 years were assessed for their tendency to experience positive emotions such as happy, pleased, and relaxed; and for negative emotions such as anxious, hostile, and depressed. Subsequently, they were given nasal drops containing one of two rhinoviruses and monitored in quarantine for the development of a common cold (illness in the presence of verified infection). RESULTS: For both viruses, increased positive emotional style (PES) was associated (in a dose-response manner) with lower risk of developing a cold. This relationship was maintained after controlling for prechallenge virus-specific antibody, virus-type, age, sex, education, race, body mass, and season (adjusted relative risk comparing lowest-to-highest tertile = 2.9). Negative emotional style (NES) was not associated with colds and the association of positive style and colds was independent of negative style. Although PES was associated with lower levels of endocrine hormones and better health practices, these differences could not account for different risks for illness. In separate analyses, NES was associated with reporting more unfounded (independent of objective markers of disease) symptoms, and PES with reporting fewer. CONCLUSIONS: The tendency to experience positive emotions was associated with greater resistance to objectively verifiable colds. PES was also associated with reporting fewer unfounded symptoms and NES with reporting more.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1983

Nasal mucociliary transport, number of ciliated cells, and beating pattern in naturally acquired common colds.

Repeated samples of nasal epithelium were taken for in vitro study of the number and motility of ciliated cells (microphoto-oscillographic technique), and nasal mucociliary clearance transport rate was measured (saccharin test) in 26 subjects with naturally acquired common colds. The transport rate was markedly reduced during the disease, and a slight impairment remained even after 32 days. There was a considerable fall in the number of ciliated cells, and regeneration was slow. A moderate and shortlasting change in beating frequency and intracellular synchrony was also observed. It is concluded, that a common cold, as a rule, results in marked and long-lasting impairment of nasal mucociliary clearance function, and this may be the cause of some otherwise unexplainable symptoms from the nose and throat.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Patient beliefs about the characteristics, causes, and care of the common cold: an update.

BACKGROUND: Many people seek medical care for cold symptoms. The cold-related knowledge and beliefs of adults seeking medical care for themselves or their children may not correspond with current medical opinion. METHODS: A total of 249 parents of symptomatic children and 257 symptomatic adults who sought medical advice in the spring of 1997 from 1 of 3 primary care clinics in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, area were surveyed by telephone 48 to 96 hours after contact with the medical system. RESULTS: Of the adults seeking care for a child or themselves, 44% believed viruses alone cause the common cold: an additional 42% believed both viruses and bacteria play a role. Most thought rest (97%) and nonprescription medications (63%) were helpful for colds, which was consistent with published reports. Contrary to medical reports, however, most felt vitamin C (67%) and the inhalation of steam (70%) reduced cold symptoms, and 44% believed antibiotics help colds (chi2=19.57; P=.0002). But 85% believed colds could resolve on their own. CONCLUSIONS: Those adults seeking medical care for uncomplicated colds are misinformed about the primary cause of the common cold, the use of prescription medications for treating cold symptoms, and the effectiveness of some palliative care techniques. Care providers should address these perceptions rather than enabling overuse of antibiotics.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prescription behaviours of office-based doctors to standardized common cold patients in Korea.

PURPOSE: To investigate real pictures of prescription behaviours of office-based doctors in Korea, especially focusing on the prescription of oral antibiotics and injections. METHODS: Prescription information was collected from 18 standardized patients (SPs) with the symptoms of the common cold who visited doctors' office. RESULTS: For these patients antibiotics were prescribed by 96 doctors (64.7%) out of 148 and the rate of antibiotic prescription increased with age of doctors, increasing number of medicines, and cost of medicines. Analgesics were most frequently prescribed (91.8%), and gastrointestinal drugs (81.6%), antitussivies (61.2%), antithistamines (61.2%), decongestants (59.2%), mucolytics (51.0%) and proteolytic enzymes (32.7%) followed. More than half of the doctors intended to give injections to the patients, which was higher among internists and doctors prescribed more medicines. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotics and injections were frequently prescribed for mild common colds in Korea. Action to ensure judicious use of antibiotics and injection is urgent.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

[Effects and side effects of oral drugs used in common cold (author's transl)].

A report about effects and side effects of common cold remedies that are taken orally is presented. There are advantages and disadvantages in the use of either locally administered nose drops or orally taken cold remedies, which are compared to each other from the pharmacological point of view. Based on the experience of a great toxicological center and a pediatric clinic, the clinical symptoms of poisoning as a result of accidental ingestion are described and contraindications are pointed out. It is concluded that, especially in children, the dosage of both oral and local drugs should not exceed the recommended amount.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Preventing the common cold with a vitamin C supplement: a double-blind, placebo-controlled survey.

One hundred sixty-eight volunteers were randomized to receive a placebo or a vitamin C supplement, two tablets daily, over a 60-day period between November and February. They used a five-point scale to assess their health and recorded any common cold infections and symptoms in a daily diary. Compared with the placebo group, the active-treatment group had significantly fewer colds (37 vs 50, P<.05), fewer days challenged virally (85 vs 178), and a significantly shorter duration of severe symptoms (1.8 vs 3.1 days, P<.03). Consequently, volunteers in the active group were less likely to get a cold and recovered faster if infected. Few side effects occurred with the active treatment, and volunteers reported greatly increased satisfaction with the study supplement compared with any previous form of vitamin C. This well-tolerated vitamin C supplement may prevent the common cold and shorten the duration of symptoms. Volunteers were generally impressed by the protection afforded them during the winter months and the general acceptability of the study medication.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMed2004

Echinacea purpurea therapy for the treatment of the common cold: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Echinacea purpurea stimulates the immune response and is promoted to reduce symptom severity and the duration of upper respiratory tract infections. We sought to determine the efficacy of a standardized preparation of E purpurea in reducing symptom severity and duration of the common cold. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design was used. Patients received either 100 mg of E purpurea (freeze-dried pressed juice from the aerial portion of the plant) or a lactose placebo 3 times daily until cold symptoms were relieved or until the end of 14 days, whichever came first. Symptoms (sneezing, nasal discharge, nasal congestion, headache, sore or scratchy throat, hoarseness, muscle aches, and cough) were scored subjectively by the patient and recorded daily in a diary. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate the survival function of time to resolution in each group. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare time to resolution between the 2 groups. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-eight patients were enrolled within 24 hours of cold symptom onset. Group demographic distribution was comparable for sex, age, time from symptom onset to enrollment in the study, average number of colds per year, and smoking history. No statistically significant difference was observed between treatment groups for either total symptom scores (P range,.29-.90) or mean individual symptom scores (P range,.09-.93). The time to resolution of symptoms was not statistically different (P =.73). CONCLUSIONS: Some studies have concluded that Echinacea effectively reduces the symptoms and duration of the common cold. We were unable to replicate such findings. Further studies using different preparations and dosages of E purpurea are necessary to validate previous claims.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Social ties and susceptibility to the common cold.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the hypothesis that diverse ties to friends, family, work, and community are associated with increased host resistance to infection. DESIGN: After reporting the extent of participation in 12 types of social ties (eg, spouse, parent, friend, workmate, member of social group), subjects were given nasal drops containing 1 of 2 rhinoviruses and monitored for the development of a common cold. SETTING: Quarantine. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 276 healthy volunteers, aged 18 to 55 years, neither seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus nor pregnant. OUTCOME MEASURES: Colds (illness in the presence of a verified infection), mucus production, mucociliary clearance function, and amount of viral replication. RESULTS: In response to both viruses, those with more types of social ties were less susceptible to common colds, produced less mucus, were more effective in ciliary clearance of their nasal passages, and shed less virus. These relationships were unaltered by statistical controls for prechallenge virus-specific antibody, virus type, age, sex, season, body mass index, education, and race. Susceptibility to colds decreased in a dose-response manner with increased diversity of the social network. There was an adjusted relative risk of 4.2 comparing persons with fewest (1 to 3) to those with most (6 or more) types of social ties. Although smoking, poor sleep quality, alcohol abstinence, low dietary intake of vitamin C, elevated catecholamine levels, and being introverted were all associated with greater susceptibility to colds, they could only partially account for the relation between social network diversity and incidence of colds. CONCLUSIONS: More diverse social networks were associated with greater resistance to upper respiratory illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold.

BACKGROUND: The role of oral ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in the prevention and treatment of colds remains controversial despite many controlled trials. There have also been a number of efforts to synthesize and/or overview the results of these trials, and controversy over what these overviews tell us. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to answer the following two questions: (1) Does regular high dosage supplementation with vitamin C reduce the incidence of colds? (2) Does taking vitamin C in high doses at the onset of a cold have a therapeutic effect? SEARCH STRATEGY: This review currently deals only with published trials from two previously published reviews by Kleijnen 1989 and Hemila 1992. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised and non-randomised trials of vitamin C taken to prevent or treat the common cold. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed trial quality. MAIN RESULTS: Thirty trials were included. The quality of the included trials was variable. Vitamin C in doses as high as one gram daily for several winter months, had no consistent beneficial effect on incidence of the common cold. For both preventive and therapeutic trials, there was a consistently beneficial but generally modest therapeutic effect on duration of cold symptoms. This effect was variable, ranging from -0.07% to a 39% reduction in symptom days. The weighted difference across all of the studies revealed a reduction of a little less than half a symptom day per cold episode, representing an 8% to 9% reduction in symptom days. There was no clear indication of the relative benefits of different regimes or vitamin C doses. However in trials that tested vitamin C after cold symptoms occurred, there was some evidence that a large dose produced greater benefits than lower doses. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Long term daily supplementation with vitamin C in large doses daily does not appear to prevent colds. There appears to be a modest benefit in reducing duration of cold symptoms from ingestion of relatively high doses of vitamin C. The relation of dose to therapeutic benefit needs further exploration.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1998

Visits by adults to family physicians for the common cold.

BACKGROUND: It is commonly believed that doctor's office visits for upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) occur too often given the self-limited nature of such illnesses. However, the frequency of visits for URTIs has not been well studied. We examined how often a large population of adults visited doctors when they had a cold, the degree to which they engaged in self care, and the characteristics of those seeking care. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of a population-based survey of 42,333 adults in the province of Ontario, Canada. Adults reporting an URTI in the previous 2 weeks were included. Multiple logistic regression was used to compare adults who made an office visit with those that did not, for differences in sociodemographic characteristics, health status, sick days, over-the-counter (OTC) medication use, and life satisfaction. RESULTS: Only 14% of the adults studied visited a doctor for an URTI. Most (76%) engaged in self care with OTC medications. Adults who visited a family physician were less likely to have taken an OTC medication (odds ratio [OR] = .11; 95% confidence interval [CI], .07-.19), and were more likely to have experienced three or more sick days (OR = 2.70; CI, 1.41-5.17), live in a larger household (OR = 1.88; CI, 1.37-2.57), not have completed high school, and be unhappy (OR = 2.47; CI, 1.35-4.52). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of adults do not visit a doctor when they have a cold, and most engage in self care. Illness severity, and its impact on patients and their families, seems to influence the decision to seek care.

Adult↗