Division of Pediatric Emergency, Department of Pediatrics, Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Kayseri.
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Erciyes University Faculty of Agriculture, Kayseri, Turkey.
Turk J Pediatr. 2020;62(4):634-640. doi: 10.24953/turkjped.2020.04.013.
The most common infectious disease in children is acute upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Many drugs, especially antitussive drugs, are used for symptomatic treatment. Bee products (propolis, royal jelly, and honey) have antiviral, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties, and they have synergistic effects with antibiotics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mixture of bee products in URTI in children.
The patients were divided into four groups consisting of two bacterial groups receiving either antibiotics or antibiotics + bee products and two viral groups treated with either placebo or bee products. Disease severity and improvement duration were assessed by the Canadian Acute Respiratory Illness and Flu Scale (CARIFS) Score.
One hundred and four patients (59 male, 56.7%; 45 female, 43.3%) aged between 5‒12 years were included in the study. Fifty patients (48%) were evaluated for bacterial infections and 54 (52%) for viral infections. Patients with viral infection receiving a mixture product showed earlier improvement, compared to placebo group. CARIFS scores were significantly lower in antibiotic + mixture group on day-2 and day-4, compared to antibiotic alone group (p < 0.05). None of the patients developed any reactions or side effects to the mixture product.
Bee products are effective in symptomatic treatment of upper respiratory tract infections. Bee products can be considered as a good treatment option because the available drugs already used for symptomatic treatment are not cost effective and can also have serious side effects in children.
儿童最常见的传染病是急性上呼吸道感染（URTI）。许多药物，尤其是镇咳药，都用于对症治疗。蜂产品（蜂胶、蜂王浆和蜂蜜）具有抗病毒、抗菌和抗氧化特性，并且与抗生素具有协同作用。本研究旨在评估蜂产品混合物治疗儿童 URTI 的疗效。
患者分为四组，两组细菌感染组分别接受抗生素或抗生素+蜂产品治疗，两组病毒感染组分别接受安慰剂或蜂产品治疗。采用加拿大急性呼吸道感染和流感量表（CARIFS）评分评估疾病严重程度和改善持续时间。
本研究共纳入 104 例年龄在 5-12 岁的患者（男性 59 例，占 56.7%；女性 45 例，占 43.3%）。50 例（48%）患者评估为细菌感染，54 例（52%）患者评估为病毒感染。与安慰剂组相比，接受混合产品治疗的病毒感染患者改善更早。与单独使用抗生素组相比，抗生素+混合组在第 2 天和第 4 天的 CARIFS 评分显著降低（p<0.05）。没有患者对混合产品产生任何反应或副作用。
蜂产品对治疗上呼吸道感染有一定疗效。由于现有的用于对症治疗的药物已经不具有成本效益，并且在儿童中也可能有严重的副作用，因此可以考虑将蜂产品作为一种良好的治疗选择。
