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In a 2014 Cochrane meta-analysis of eight manufacturer-conducted, placebo-controlled, influenza treatment trials in adults, researchers concluded that oseltamivir (Tamiflu) “modestly reduces” duration of symptoms but causes nausea and vomiting and, possibly, adverse psychiatric effects. The report pointedly questioned the antiviral activity of oseltamivir and “its use in clinical practice as an anti-influenza drug” (NEJM JW Gen Med May 15 2014 and BMJ 2014; 348:g2545). However, the analysis was based on aggregate rather than patient-level data.
Researchers now report a meta-analysis of patient-level data from the same trials plus one recent addition (total of 4328 adult patients with flu-like illness). In all trials, patients with fever and …