Cochrane Systematic Review: Decongestants, antihistamines and nasal irrigation for acute sinusitis in children

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Objectives: To systematically review the efficacy of decongestants, antihistamines and nasal irrigation in children with clinically diagnosed acute sinusitis. We considered the following four interventions: 1) decongestants versus placebo or no medication, 2) antihistamines versus placebo or no medication, 3) decongestant and antihistamine combination versus placebo or no medication, 4) nasal irrigation versus no irrigation. The primary outcomes of the review were symptom resolution (improvement in symptom score from enrolment to day five and overall symptom burden (as measured by average symptom scores while on therapy).