Echinacea/sage or chlorhexidine/lidocaine for treating acute sore throats: A randomized double-blind trial

Abstract

Background: The aim of this trial was to assess the relative efficacy of a sage/echinacea spray and a chlorhexidine/lidocaine spray in the treatment of acute sore throats. Methods: This was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy controlled trial carried out in eleven general practices in Switzerland. A total of 154 patients (133 analyzed in per protocol collective) at least 12 years old with acute sore throat present for not more than 72 hours prior to inclusion and with a throat score ≥6 participated in the study. They used either an echinacea/sage spray or a chlorhexidine/ lidocaine spray with two puffs every 2 hours, in a double-dummy blinded manner, up to 10 times daily until they were symptom-free, for a maximum of 5 days. The main outcome measures was the comparison of response rates during the first three days. A response was defined as a decrease of at least 50% of the total symptoms compared to baseline. Results: The echinacea/sage treatment exhibited similar efficacy to the chlorhexidine/lidocaine treatment in reducing sore throat symptoms during the first 3 days (P(x