***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: 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 To test the hypothesis that codeine and dextromethorphan are effective in alleviating the symptoms of  acute cough  , we conducted a r and omized , controlled trial . Eligible patients were children 18 months to 12 years of age , seen in private pediatric practice s , with significant night cough of less than 14 days ' duration . Study patients were r and omly selected to receive codeine , dextromethorphan , or placebo at bedtime for 3 consecutive nights . Outcomes were assessed by the use of a parent question naire rating the severity of symptoms at the initiation of therapy , and after each night of the study . Every patient had a cough score ( range 0 to 4 ) and composite symptom score ( range 0 to 9 ) computed for each day of the study . One hundred forty-one doses of study medication were evaluated in 49 patients , including 13 children receiving placebo , 19 dextromethorphan , and 17 codeine .  Mean cough and composite symptom scores decreased in each of the three treatment groups on each day of the study ; there were no significant differences . Regression analysis , with reduction in cough score as the outcome of interest , showed that neither dextromethorphan nor codeine was significantly more effective than placebo ( p = 0.41 and 0.70 , respectively ) . Reduction in cough score was positively correlated with the severity of cough at the start of treatment ( p = 0.007 ) . Our data suggest that , in the doses used , neither codeine nor dextromethorphan is superior to placebo in treating night cough in children OTHER investigators,1 - 6utilizing various techniques , have attempted to determine objective ly the response of cough  to antitussive medication .  Volunteer adult patients were used almost exclusively in those studies . The techniques employed have consisted of induction of cough by artificial means , such as successive inhalations of an irritant aerosol , and of assay of antitussive activity of cough medications based on reduction in number of coughs provoked by the irritant . The irritant usually was citric acid or acetylcholine . While the data obtained gave a valid indication of a cough-suppressing effect , experimental production of cough by chemical or mechanical irritants is subject to certain limitations and criticisms . First , the healthy volunteer after repeated exposure develops a tolerance to the irritant , especially when the latter is citric acid . Second , the frequency and intensity of artificially induced cough vary with the concentration of the irritant and the interval between challenges . Third , the artificially induced OBJECTIVE To determine whether an antihistamine-decongestant combination ( ADC ) is superior to placebo in temporarily relieving symptoms of  upper respiratory tract infection ( URI ) in preschool children . DESIGN R and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial . SETTING Four pediatric offices in the Seattle , Wash , area . PARTICIPANTS Children 6 months through 5 years of age with a URI of less than 7 days ' duration . METHODS Children were r and omly assigned to receive an ADC ( brompheniramine maleate-phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride ) or placebo as needed for URI symptoms . Two hours after each dose of study medication , changes in the child 's runny nose , nasal congestion , cough , and sleep status were assessed by means of a st and ardized question naire . RESULTS A total of 175 responses were recorded for 59 patients . There were no statistically significant differences in symptom improvement between the ADC and the placebo group ( runny nose , p = 0.48 ; nasal congestion , p = 0.94 ; cough , p = 0.66 ) . However , the proportion of children asleep 2 hours after receiving the ADC was significantly higher than the proportion receiving placebo ( 46.6 % vs 26.5 % ; p = 0.01 ) . Results were unchanged after control for the correlated nature of repeated responses , age , symptom duration , use of acetaminophen , time that the medication was given , and parental desire for medication . CONCLUSIONS The ADC was equivalent to placebo in providing temporary relief of URI symptoms  in preschool children . However , the ADC did have significantly greater sedative effects than did placebo 
    Output:
    
Antitussives , antihistamine-decongestant combinations , other fixed drug combinations , and antihistamines were no more effective than placebo in relieving symptoms of acute cough .
Most drugs appeared to be well tolerated with a low incidence of mostly minor adverse effects .
CONCLUSION OTC cough medicines do not appear more effective than placebo in relieving symptoms of acute cough .