BACKGROUND Patients' expectations can influence antibiotic prescription by primary healthcare physicians. We assessed knowledge, attitude and practices towards antibiotic use for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), and whether knowledge is associated with increased expectations for antibiotics among patients visiting primary healthcare services in Singapore. METHODS Data was collected...

OBJECTIVES To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of parents regarding antibiotic usage for treating upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) among children. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 randomly selected parents attending a primary health clinic using self-administered questionnaires. RESULTS About two-thirds (69.1%) of the parents had poor knowledge lev...

We investigated the clinical effectiveness of a homeopathic add-on therapy in a pediatric subpopulation with upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) in a randomized, controlled, multinational clinical trial. Patients received either on-demand symptomatic standard treatment (ST-group) or the same ST plus a homeopathic medication (Influcid; IFC-group) for 7 days. Outcome assessment was based on...

I read with great interest the article by Kartasurya et al.. The authors conclude that Zn combined with vitamin A significantly reduces the percentage of days with upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) in preschool Indonesian children. However, there are a few points in the paper that deserve comment. First, the claimed reduction in the percentage of days with URTI following Zn supplementat...

BACKGROUND Although the risk of clinical attacks of multiple sclerosis seems to be significantly increased with viral upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), serological evidence for the reported association remains controversial. In addition, although MRI is six to 10 times more sensitive than clinical exacerbations in indexing disease activity, any possible association between URTI and MRI...

The immunomodulatory effects of live or non-viable lactic acid bacteria have been extensively investigated. We reported that oral intake of heat-killed Lactobacillus plantarum L-137 (HK L-137) augmented innate and acquired immunity in mice and human subjects. To examine the effects of HK L-137 intake on upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) symptoms and immune functions in human subjects, a ...

BACKGROUND Viral upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) have been correlated with the onset of asthma attacks in children and viral identification was reported in 14-49 % of nasal samples. The aim of the present study was to detect influenza, parainfluenza, adenovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older children during acute asthma attacks. METHODS A total of 104 children (2-14 ...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a probiotic supplement during 4 mo of spring training in men and women engaged in endurance-based physical activities on incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and mucosal immune markers. Sixty-six highly active individuals were randomized to probiotic (n = 33) or placebo (n = 33) groups and, under double-blind procedures, ...

I read with great interest the article by Kartasurya et al.. The authors conclude that Zn combined with vitamin A significantly reduces the percentage of days with upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) in preschool Indonesian children. However, there are a few points in the paper that deserve comment. First, the claimed reduction in the percentage of days with URTI following Zn supplementat...

PURPOSE Although several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of probiotics for preventing upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in at-risk populations, including children and the elderly, few studies have investigated the efficacy of probiotics in healthy adults living normal, everyday lives. Thus, we tried to evaluate the effects of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota-fermented milk (Lc...