Effects of EPs 7630 on the duration of inability to work in acute bronchitis - a meta-analysis

Heinrich Matthys; Petra Funk; Andrea Zimmermann; Walter Lehmacher

doi:10.4081/mrm.2023.914

Effects of EPs 7630 on the duration of inability to work in acute bronchitis - a meta-analysis

Multidiscip Respir Med. 2023 Jun 13;18(1):914. doi: 10.4081/mrm.2023.914. eCollection 2023 Jan 17.

Authors

Heinrich Matthys¹, Petra Funk², Andrea Zimmermann², Walter Lehmacher³

Affiliations

¹ Medical Director Emeritus, Department of Pneumology, Freiburg University Hospital, Freiburg.
² Research and Development Department, Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, Karlsruhe.
³ Emeritus, Institute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Epidemiology, University of Cologne, Germany.

Abstract

Background: Acute bronchitis (AB) has an enormous economic impact through lost working time. We investigated whether treatment with Pelargonium extract EPs 7630 may reduce the time of inability to work.

Methods: A meta-analysis of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials with adult patients suffering from AB was performed. The average number of days of inability to work and the proportion of patients who were still unable to work after one week's treatment were assessed.

Results: Four clinical trials with a total of 1,011 evaluable patients who received the marketed dosage of EPs 7630 (n=505) or placebo (n=506) for seven days were included in the meta-analysis. At baseline, 845/1,011 patients (83.6%) were unable to work. In the four trials, the proportion decreased to between 19 and 14% for EPs 7630 and to between 41 and 55% for placebo (meta-analysis risk ratio and 95% confidence interval: 0.35; 0.26-0.45; p<0.001). For the number of sick days, a weighted mean difference of 1.73 days (1.17-2.29 days; p<0.001) favoring EPs 7630 was observed.

Conclusions: For adults suffering from AB, this meta-analysis demonstrates that seven days' treatment with Pelargonium sidoides extract EPs 7630 significantly reduces the average number of sick days and significantly increases the proportion of patients who are able to return to work.

Keywords: EPs 7630; Pelargonium; acute bronchitis; adults; inability to work; meta-analysis.

Grants and funding

Funding: This work, including medical writing services, provision of trial data used in this article, and publication, was supported by Dr Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, Karlsruhe, Germany. The trials included into this work were sponsored by Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, Karlsruhe, Germany.