Study: Tamiflu Speeds Up Recovery From Influenza
Tamiflu (oseltamivir) use accelerated flu-symptom resolution and decreased the risk of hospitalization, according to a recent study.
“Despite widespread use, questions remain about the efficacy of oseltamivir in the treatment of influenza,” said the authors of the study.
“We aimed to do an individual patient data meta-analysis for all clinical trials comparing oseltamivir with placebo for treatment of seasonal influenza in adults regarding symptom alleviation, complications, and safety,” they said.
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For the meta-analysis, researchers analyzed the data of 4328 patients who took 75 mg of Tamiflu twice daily for the treatment of flu symptoms. Researchers used risk rations and the Mantel-Haenszel methods to adjust for complications, hospital admissions, and safety outcomes.
The study showed a 21% decreased time (4 days vs. 5.1 days) of alleviation of all symptoms with Tamiflu use compared to those participants receiving a placebo. They also noted fewer lower respiratory tract infections requiring antibiotics in those taking Tamiflu (4.9% vs. 8.7%) and fewer hospitalizations (0.6% vs. 1.7%).
Despite the drug’s effectiveness, researchers noted that patients using Tamiflu had a higher risk for vomiting (8% vs. 3%) and nausea (10% vs. 6%) compared to those taking the placebo.
“Our findings show that oseltamivir in adults with influenza accelerates time to clinical symptom alleviation, reduces risk of lower respiratory tract complications, and admittance to hospital, but increases the occurrence of nausea and vomiting,” they concluded.
-Michelle Canales
Reference:
Dobson J, Whitely RJ, Pocock S, Monto AS. Oseltamivir treatment for influenza in adults: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Lancet. 2015 January [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62449-1.