Condition

Lower respiratory infections

Clinical trials and treatment information for Lower respiratory infections

7.6M
People Affected
300
Active Trials
450M
New Cases/Year
2.2M
Deaths/Year

Treatment Rankings

Ranked by evidence volume first. Medicine has spent centuries ranking things by vibes. This is an improvement.

1
Amoxicillin/Clavulanate
88% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 70% Safety• 1 trials• 100K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 875 mg/125 mg twice daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
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Chemo☢️
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Morphine💊
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70
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days

Duration

7-10 days

Response Rate

90%

Remission Rate

85%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

4

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

8

Common Side Effects:

Diarrhea: 12%
Nausea/vomiting: 6%
Rash: 2%
Hepatotoxicity: 0.05%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$45

Monitoring

$250

Side Effects

$10

Total Annual

$305

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.09

ICER

$25,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$358.82

Cost per Responder

$338.89

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Body Temperature38.5 °C
-3.9% (-1.5 °C)
Cough Severity ScoreCough Severity Score (0-5 scale): 4
-75% (-3 points)
Dyspnea Severity ScoremMRC Dyspnea Scale: 2
-50% (-1 point)
C-Reactive Protein (CRP)80 mg/L
-75% (-60 mg/L)
Secondary Benefits
White Blood Cell (WBC) Count15,000 cells/µL
-46.7% (-7,000 cells/µL)
Patient Global Assessment of Well-beingWell-being VAS (0-100): 40
+75% (+30 points)
Sputum Production SeveritySputum Production (0-5 scale): 3
-66.7% (-2 points)
Common Side Effects
Diarrhea
+12%
Nausea/vomiting
+6%
Rash
+2%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
2
Amoxicillin
85% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 70% Safety• 1 trials• 200K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 500 mg - 1 g three times daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
70
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days

Duration

5-7 days

Response Rate

85%

Remission Rate

80%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

4

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

15

Common Side Effects:

Diarrhea: 7%
Nausea/vomiting: 3%
Rash: 2%
Allergic reaction: 0.05%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$15

Monitoring

$250

Side Effects

$5

Total Annual

$270

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.08

ICER

$15,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$337.5

Cost per Responder

$317.65

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Lower Respiratory Infection Symptom Score (LRTI-SS)LRTI-SS: 12/20 (higher score indicates worse symptoms)
-75% (-9 points)
Duration of Fever (>38°C)Average 4 days
-50% (-2 days)
C-Reactive Protein (CRP)60 mg/L (elevated due to infection)
-75% (-45 mg/L)
Secondary Benefits
Days of Restricted Activity7 days
-57.1% (-4 days)
Need for Rescue Antibiotics15% of patients (e.g., in a control group)
-66.7% (-10 percentage points (from 15% to 5%))
Hospitalization Rate due to LRTI8% of patients (e.g., in a control group)
-62.5% (-5 percentage points (from 8% to 3%))
Common Side Effects
Diarrhea
+7%
Nausea/vomiting
+3%
Rash
+2%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
3
Azithromycin
85% Effectiveness• 88% Confidence• 70% Safety• 6 trials• 150K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 500 mg Day 1, then 250 mg daily for 4 days
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
70
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days

Duration

3-5 days

Response Rate

85%

Remission Rate

80%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

5

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

20

Common Side Effects:

Diarrhea: 6%
Nausea/vomiting: 5%
Abdominal pain: 4%
QT prolongation: 0.05%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$30

Monitoring

$250

Side Effects

$5

Total Annual

$285

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.08

ICER

$20,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$356.25

Cost per Responder

$335.29

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Respiratory Symptom Severity Score7.0/10 (0-10 scale, 10=worst symptoms)
-45% (-3.15 points)
Body Temperature101.5 °F (38.6 °C)
-2.85% (-2.9 °F (-1.6 °C))
Cough Severity Score6.5/10 (0-10 Visual Analogue Scale)
-50% (-3.25 points)
Secondary Benefits
Sleep Disturbance Score7.0/10 (0-10 scale, 10=severe disturbance)
-40% (-2.8 points)
Activity Limitation Score6.0/10 (0-10 scale, 10=severely limited)
-35% (-2.1 points)
Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) Score40/100 (SF-36 Physical Component Summary, lower is worse)
+15% (+6 points)
Common Side Effects
Diarrhea
+6%
Nausea/vomiting
+5%
Abdominal pain
+4%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
4
Doxycycline
80% Effectiveness• 85% Confidence• 70% Safety• 300 trials• 100K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 100 mg twice daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
70
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days

Duration

7-10 days

Response Rate

80%

Remission Rate

75%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

5

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

17

Common Side Effects:

Photosensitivity: 8.5%
Esophageal irritation: 6.5%
Nausea/vomiting/diarrhea: 7.5%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$20

Monitoring

$250

Side Effects

$10

Total Annual

$280

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.07

ICER

$18,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$373.33

Cost per Responder

$350

Treatment Outcomes
Efficacy Outcomes
Overall Effectiveness
+80%
Response Rate
+80%
Remission Rate
+75%
Common Side Effects
Photosensitivity
+8.5%
Esophageal irritation
+6.5%
Nausea/vomiting/diarrhea
+7.5%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
5
Oseltamivir
75% Effectiveness• 85% Confidence• 65% Safety• 4 trials• 50K participants
HIGH EvidenceGood ValueDose: 75 mg twice daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
65
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days

Duration

5 days

Response Rate

65%

Remission Rate

25%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

25

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

8

Common Side Effects:

Nausea/vomiting: 12.5%
Headache: 2.5%
Neuropsychiatric events: 0.05%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$75

Monitoring

$150

Side Effects

$5

Total Annual

$230

Cost-Effectiveness

GOOD

QALYs Gained

0.03

ICER

$75,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$920

Cost per Responder

$353.85

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Time to alleviation of overall influenza symptoms (LRTI focus)6.5 days
-23.1% (-1.5 days)
Duration of fever3.0 days
-16.7% (-0.5 days)
Incidence of influenza-related pneumonia requiring antibiotics10% of patients
-50% (-5 percentage points)
Overall Influenza Symptom Severity Score (VAS 0-100)60 points
-15% (-9 points)
Secondary Benefits
Hospitalization due to influenza2.5% of patients
-40% (-1 percentage point)
Prescription of antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections18% of patients
-27.8% (-5 percentage points)
Time to return to usual daily activities9 days
-22.2% (-2 days)
Common Side Effects
Nausea/vomiting
+12.5%
Headache
+2.5%
Neuropsychiatric events
+0.05%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4