Antibiotics v placebo or standard treatment (control) in children with persistent nasal discharge for ≥10 days*
| Weighted event rates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcomes at 2–6 weeks | Number of RCTs (patients) | Antibiotics | Control | RRR (95% CI) | NNT (CI) |
| Overall clinical failure | 6 (562) | 34% | 46% | 25% (8 to 39) | 9 (5 to 34) |
| Failure to cure | 5 (401) | 40% | 56% | 28% (11 to 41) | 7 (4 to 20) |
| Failure to improve | 3 (350) | 24% | 39% | 27% (15 to 54) | 7 (4 to 20) |
| Complications | 2 (284) | 3.6% | 12% | 66% (12 to 86) | Not significant |
| RRI (CI) | NNH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *RCTs = randomised controlled trials. Other abbreviations defined in glossary; RRR, RRI, NNT, NNH and CI calculated from data in article using a fixed effects model. | |||||
| Side effects | 4 (469) | 5.9% | 2.9% | 75% (−37 to 382) | Not significant |