Tamiflu Is Effective In Shortening Flu Symptoms

New findings published in The Lancet suggest that the antiviral drug Tamiflu may shorten the length of flu symptoms by close to a day.

The findings are part of an analysis of nine published and unpublished randomized clinical trials of the drug in adults, provided by Tamiflu's marker, Roche.

For the study, researchers compared the effectiveness of the licensed 75-miligram dose of Tamiflu against a placebo in over 4,300 adults who had the flu between 1997 and 2001.

For patients with laboratory-confirmed flu, Tamiflu helped shorten the length of flu symptoms by up to 21 percent when compared with groups who received the placebo. It also had a 44 percent lower risk of respiratory infections requiring antibiotics and a 63 percent lower risk of hospitalization for any cause.

However, some risks were also associated with the medication's use, including an increased risk of nausea and vomiting than those in the placebo group.

"This is the first patient-level analysis of how well this drug works. Previous research has questioned its success and use in light of the side effects of nausea and vomiting, but the other studies combined those infected with influenza and those without, which diluted the positive effect of treatment," said study co-author Dr. Arnold Monto of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, in a news release.

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