Table 1 Patients characteritics at baseline according to types of treatments
Antibiotic (ANT) n = 89 | Antitussives (ATT) n = 123 | Combination (COM) n = 38 | No Treatment (NT) n = 55 | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age (years), mean (min-max) | 4.9 (0.4–13.0) | 6.4 (0.8–14.0) | 6.5 (1.7–13.3) | 7.0 (0.3–14.0) | p < 0.01 |
Cough Duration (days), mean (min-max) | 5.7 (1.0–21.0) | 4.6 (2.0–20.0) | 6.5 (2.0–30.0) | 5.0 (2.0–1.0) | p < 0.05 |
Cough Type (%) | |||||
Productive | 61.8 % | 26 % | 52.6 % | 47.3 % | p < 0.01 |
Dry | 23.6 % | 64.2 % | 26.3 % | 34.5 % | |
Mix | 14.6 % | 9.8 % | 21.1 % | 18.2 % | NS ANT vs ATT, NS ATT vs COM |
Cough Intensity (%) | |||||
Mild | 19.1 % | 10.6 % | 0 % | 43.6 % | NS ANT vs ATT |
Moderate | 36 % | 63.4 % | 34.2 % | 54.5 % | NS ANT vs ATT, NS ATT vs COM |
Severe | 44.9 % | 26 % | 65.8 % | 1.8 % | NS ANT vs ATT |
Cough Frequency (%) | |||||
Occasional | 22.5 % | 20.3 % | 0 % | 58.2 % | NS ANT vs ATT |
Frequent | 58.4 % | 71.5 % | 60.5 % | 41.8 % | NS ANT vs ATT, NS ATT vs COM |
Continuous | 19.1 % | 8.1 % | 39.5 % | 0 % | NS ANT vs ATT |
Concomitant respiratory diseases | |||||
Yes | 74.2 % | 72.4 % | 81.6 % | 92.7 % | p < 0.05 |
No | 25.8 % | 27.6 % | 18.4 % | 7.3 % | |
First episode of cough | |||||
Yes | 57.3 % | 51.2 % | 63.2 % | 40 % | NS |
No | 42.7 % | 48.8 % | 36.8 % | 60 % | NS |