A.Vogel Echinacea Throat Spray Trial

In a recent multicentre double blind study, A.Vogel Echinacea Throat Spray was shown to be as effective as conventional throat spray, with fewer of those using it taking painkilling medication. 94.2% of the people using the A.Vogel spray said they would use it again.

Sore throats are among the most common complaints encountered in general medical practice and generally occur in conjunction with upper respiratory tract infections. Viral infections account for at least 65% of all sore throats, so the use of antibiotics only plays a minor part in the treatment of sore throats. Non-antibiotic palliative treatment is therefore to be recommended. This can be administered locally or systemically and usually consists of anti-inflammatory, local anaesthetic or antiseptic measures.

This trial was conducted at 11 medical practices in the Swiss cantons of St Gallen, Zürich and Aargau. 151 patients were recruited, aged between 12 and 75, with acute pharyngitis or tonsillitis with throat pain and inflammation of the pharynx and/or tonsils, and onset of the sore throat less than 72 hours prior to the start of the study. The study was continued until the patients were symptom-free, up to a maximum of 5 days.

The patients were allowed to take ibuprofen 200mg during the trial if they wished.

The patients were given either A. Vogel Echinacea Throat Spray and a dummy spray, or a conventional chlorhexidine/ lidocaine spray and a dummy spray. The dummy sprays were necessary because conventional spray tastes very different to A.Vogel Echinacea Throat Spray, so the patients could easily have realised which remedy they were taking. Neither group knew which of their sprays was the dummy, thus the trial was effectively blinded.

Each patient was given a patient diary. He or she had to rate their sore throat symptoms every morning before administering the first dose of treatment. The symptoms of throat pain - difficulty swallowing, salivation, erythema (redness) and fever - were recorded according to a 4-point scale, where 0 = none, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, and 3 = severe. In addition, the patient had to rate their symptoms at

A multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the efficacy and tolerability of A.Vogel Echinacea Throat Spray compared to a chlorhexidine/ lidocaine spray in patients with acute sore throats. This trial was conducted in accordance with the ICH-GCP guidelines.