***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: The effects of oral administration of a lozenge containing 11 mg (-)-menthol on nasal resistance to airflow ( NAR ) and nasal sensation of airflow in 62 subjects suffering from nasal congestion associated with naturally acquired common cold infection have been studied . NAR was measured by posterior rhinomanometry and nasal sensation of airflow by means of a visual analogue scale ( VAS ) . The effects of the lozenge were compared with a c and y placebo lozenge in a double blind r and omized trial . NAR showed a significant increase ( P less than 0.05 ) in both the menthol and placebo groups over the 2 h experiment with no difference between the groups at any time . The VAS scores showed significant changes of subjective improvement in nasal sensation of airflow ( P less than 0.001 ) in the menthol-treated group 10 min after dosing whereas the placebo group showed no change . It is concluded that dosing with 11 mg menthol in subjects with common cold has no effect on NAR as measured by posterior rhinomanometry but causes a marked change in nasal sensation of airflow with a subjective sensation of nasal decongestion Background Pseudoephedrine ( 60 mg ) is widely used as an oral decongestant taken in tablet or syrup formulations every 4–6 hours for the treatment of nasal congestion associated with common cold and allergy . However , there are relatively few studies in the literature that have used objective measures of nasal airway resistance ( NAR ) to assess the efficacy of pseudoephedrine , and most studies use only a single dose of medication . The present study has the aims of study ing the safety and efficacy of a new pseudoephedrine formulation after single and multiple doses in patients with URTI . Methods The study was a double-blind , r and omized , parallel-group , placebo-controlled trial conducted over three study days at a single center . Patients suffering from nasal congestion associated with common cold were recruited and total NAR was measured by the technique of posterior rhinomanometry . NAR and subjective scores of nasal congestion were measured at baseline and after dosing with study medication , every hour over a four-hour period on day 1 after a single dose , and on day 3 after multiple doses of medication . Subjective scores of congestion/stuffiness were also made as a summary score at the end of each day of treatment . Results Two hundred and thirty-eight patients with nasal congestion associated with acute upper respiratory tract infection ( URTI ) , mean age 20 years , were recruited to the study and received treatment . After a single dose on day 1 the pseudoephedrine group had a statistically significant lower area under the NAR curve than placebo ( p = 0.006 ) for the primary efficacy variable area under the NAR curve from 0–3 hours ( NAR AUC 0–3h ) , and similarly for the secondary efficacy variable NAR AUC 0–4h ( p = 0.001 ) . On day three after multiple doses , the pseudoephedrine group had a statistically significant lower NAR AUC 0–3h and AUC 0–4h than placebo ( p < 0.001 ) , On day 1 , the pseudoephedrine group had significantly lower subjective scores for congestion than placebo visual analog scale ( VAS ) AUC 0–3h ( p = 0.029 ) and similarly for VAS AUC 0–4h ( p = 0.021 ) . On day 3 , the differences in subjective scores were not significantly different . The mean decrease from baseline of the summary score for congestion/stuffiness over the duration of the study was greater in the pseudoephedrine group compared to the placebo group ( p = 0.016 ) . On average , heart rate was between two and four beats per minute greater in the pseudoephedrine group compared to placebo . Five adverse events were reported in both treatment groups and these were deemed to be unrelated to treatment . Conclusion The results demonstrate that pseudoephedrine is a safe and effective treatment for nasal congestion associated with URTI . The results from the laboratory study on day 1 demonstrate by both objective and subjective measures of nasal congestion that a single dose of 60 mg pseudoephedrine is superior to placebo treatment . Support for the decongestant efficacy of multiple doses of pseudoephedrine is provided by objective measures on day 3 and subjective measures made over three days , but not by the VAS scores on day 3 OBJECTIVE Nasal inhalation of steam has been proposed as treatment of viral colds on the assumption that increased intranasal temperature will inhibit replication of rhinovirus ( RV ) . The effect of steam inhalation on RV shedding by infected volunteers was examined in this study . DESIGN R and omized controlled trial . Volunteers experimentally infected with RV were treated with machine-generated humidified air , which was either hot ( active ) or at room temperature ( placebo ) . Viral shedding was assessed over the 4 days following treatment . SETTING Local hotel . PARTICIPANTS Twenty volunteers from the university community who were susceptible to the challenge virus . INTERVENTION Two 30-minute intranasal treatments , the first at 24 hours after inoculation and the second at 48 hours . The temperature of active vapor was 42 degrees C to 44 degrees C and of placebo vapor was 22 degrees C. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Viral titers in nasal washings on each of 5 days following inoculation . RESULTS Mean viral titers prior to the first treatment were 10(1.7 ) tissue culture infectious doses per milliliter in the active group and 10(1.5 ) in the placebo group . Mean titers for the next 4 days were 10(1.7 ) , and 10(1.7 ) , 10(1.2 ) , and 10(0.9)/mL in the active group and 10(1.8 ) , 10(1.9 ) , 10(1.6 ) , and 10(0.7)/mL in the placebo group ( no significant difference ) . The proportion of volunteers who shed virus on each day was also similar in the two groups . CONCLUSION Two nasal inhalation treatments with steam had no effect on viral shedding in volunteers with experimental RV colds A total of 466 healthy adults from four different regions of Engl and entered a double-blind , r and omised trial to test the effectiveness of an antihistamine ( triprolidine ) and a decongestant ( pseudoephedrine ) , alone or in combination , in relieving symptoms of the common cold .  During the study 199 subjects reported a total of 243 colds . Subjects recorded the severity of 12 symptoms during treatment and noted separately the severity of a further seven symptoms that represented unwanted effects of treatment or served as an index of suggestibility . They were then asked about their overall improvement in symptoms during treatment and whether they thought they had taken placebo .  Sneezing , nasal obstruction , and overall response to treatment were significantly improved ( p < 0.01 ) with psuedoephedrine or pseudoephedrine and triprolidine compared with placebo The effectiveness of orally administered pseudoephedrine in patients with acute or chronic nonsuppurative rhinitis was evaluated under double-blind conditions . Intranasally administered ephedrine which was given to all patients at the end of this study served as the positive control . Marked nasal decongestant effects of a single oral dose of pseudoephedrine ( 60 mg tablet ) , as determined by a modified passive anterior , rhinometrie technique occurred within 30 minutes and were maintained for at least four hours . The mean nasal decongestant response ( Δ% of baseline ) of 57.2 % was associated with a mean peak , plasma pseudoephedrine level of 274 ng/ml . In addition , the maximum response to oral pseudoephedrine treatment was equivalent to the response produced by ephedrine nasal spray . These results suggest that pseudoephedrine is an orally effective nasal decongestant We tested the hypothesis that antihistamine-decongestant combinations cause no clinical ly significant relief of the symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections in young children by r and omly assigning 96 children to one of three treatment groups : antihistamine-decongestant , placebo , and no treatment . There were no differences among the three study groups in the proportion of children considered " better " overall by the parent 48 hours after the initial assessment ( drug , 67 % ; placebo , 71 % ; no treatment , 57 % ; p = 0.53 ) . There were no differences among groups in individual or composite symptom score changes . Two thirds of parents whose children were eligible for the drug trial believed that their child needed medicine for cold symptoms . In the proportion of parents believing that their child needed medicine , there was no difference between those who consented to participate and those who refused . Parents who wanted medicine at the initial visit reported more improvement at follow-up , regardless of whether the child received drug , placebo , or no treatment . We conclude that there is no clinical ly significant improvement in symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection , including no significant placebo effect , in young children for whom an  antihistamine-decongestant  is prescribed A placebo-controlled double-blind r and omized trial was carried out to assess the efficacy of pseudoephedrine in relieving  nasal congestion  in the common cold . Fifty-four previously healthy persons who had a common cold for at least 5 days or less at the start of the study with moderate to severe nasal congestion were recruited , 52 completed the trial . Following a single dose of oral pseudoephedrine ( 60 mg capsule ) or placebo , symptoms of congestion improved significantly compared with placebo at times 60 , 90 , 120 , and 150 min after the dose . Total nasal minimum cross-sectional area and nasal volume measured by acoustic rhinometry increased significantly compared to placebo ( P = 0.018 and P = 0.003 , respectively ) after the dose . There was no significant change in nasal area as measured by active posterior rhinomanometry after pseudoephedrine compared to placebo . We conclude that in the acute common cold , a single 60 mg dose of pseudoephedrine produces significant increases in the dimensions of the nasal cavity compared to placebo and this is associated with a reduction in the symptom of congestion The aim of the trial was to examine the effectiveness of an oral decongestant in common cold . Thirty subjects with naturally acquired colds got a 100 mg sustained release tablet containing norephedrine on one day and a placebo tablet on another day in double blind design . Changes in nasal patency were assessed by rhinomanometry , measurement of nasal expiratory peak flow , and a self- assessment test , and the number of sneezes and of nose blowings were recorded in a 10 hours period after medication . Rhinomanometry , but not peak flow measurements showed a significant difference ( p less than 0.02 ) two hours after medication , and the self- assessment of nasal blockage showed that the effect lasted for the entire 10 hours observation period ( p less than 0.01 ) . Nasal respiration was reestablished in half of the blocked noses . There was no effect on number of sneezes and nose blowings . In conclusion , oral norephedrine has a moderate decongestant effect , which may justify its use in adults with common colds . This symptom amelioration must be balanced against cost of therapy and risk of side effects . A prevention of otitis media and of sinusitis has not been documented in the literature A VARIETY of drugs and drug formulations have been developed for the symptomatic relief of engorged mucous membranes which accompany coryza and upper respiratory infections . Existing objective techniques for measuring duration of drug effect include the determination of urinary excretion patterns1or blood levels2following drug administration . However , these are measurements of drug levels only inferentially related to therapeutic responses . Direct determinations of  nasal airflow  have been used occasionally to compare the effectiveness of formulations , and some of these rhinometric techniques have been review ed by Aviado,3Stoksted,4 and McLaurin.5,6The technique that we have developed is essentially a modification of that reported by McLaurin , dependent only upon a pressure transducer and a direct writing recorder . St and ard airflow measurements depend upon variations of pressure drop relative to a st and ard external pressure , an oxygen tank , for example . For our method we have eliminated the external pressure st and The utility of an anterior rhinomanometric method for the assessment of  decongestant drug activity is illustrated with representative clinical data . Controlled studies employing topical nasal spray , nasal inhaler , and oral syrup formulations were conducted under single- or double-blind conditions in patients with allergic or coryzal rhinitis . The method provided an objective means to distinguish active from placebo ( vehicle ) treatments and to discriminate differences in decongestant activity between two active formulations . Furthermore , objective ly determined increases in nasal patency paralleled the patients ' subjective perception of improved airflow . In conclusion , this rhinomanometric methodology provided objective confirmation of drug activity with orally-administered , inhaled , and topically-applied decongestant drug formulations The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of pseudoephedrine as a nasal decongestant . Patients with nasal congestion associated with common cold received two doses of medication separated by 4 hours , either 60 mg  pseudoephedrine ( n = 20 ) , or  placebo ( n = 20 ) . Unilateral nasal airflow was measured over a 7-hour period to record the spontaneous changes in nasal airflow associated with the nasal cycle . Minimum ( F MIN ) and maximum ( F MAX ) unilateral nasal airflows were defined as the minimum and maximum nasal airflow values for each nasal passage recorded during the 7-hour 
    Output:
    
There was a small but statistically significant 6 % decrease in subjective symptoms after a single dose of decongestant compared with placebo .
This was supported by a significant decrease in nasal airways resistance .
With repeated doses , nasal decongestants produce a very small statistical benefit of 4 % over three to five days , again supported by a decrease in nasal airways resistance .
A single oral dose of nasal decongestant in the common cold is modestly effective for the short term relief of congestion in adults , and these drugs also provide benefit in some individuals after regular use over three to five days .