August 10, 2009

antivirals to treat swine flu in children

Speakers:
Dr Matthew Thompson, Senior Clinical Scientist and Co-Director, Oxford Centre for Monitoring and Diagnosis (MaDOx)
Dr Carl Heneghan, Clinical Lecturer in Primary Health Care and Deputy Director, Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Oxford

A systematic review of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) for treatment of influenza in children has been published in the British Medical Journal. The authors examined seven previous trials investigate the effectiveness of the antivirals in (i) treating the disease and (ii) preventing transmission, and they came to the SMC to present their findings.