Purpose: Repeated attacks of tonsillitis is a common disease affecting children. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective influence of adjunct use of each Echinacea and pelargonium sidoides separately with oral Azithromycin (AZT), compared to use of AZT alone in children with recurrent attacks of acute tonsillitis.
Methods: A prospective randomized controlled trial including four groups of children with recurrent tonsillitis. Group A:“control group" not received any prophylactic medications. Group B: Received a prophylactic dose of AZT (10 mg /kg/day, not exceeds 500mg/day). Group C: Received AZT as in group B plus 250 mg of Echinacea extract 3 times daily. Group D: Received AZT as in group B plus 10-20 drops of pelargonium sidoides extract according to age, 3 times daily. In all children who receive medications, the duration of treatment is fixed as to cover 10 consecutive days per month for 6months. The number and severity of tonsillitis were assessed and compared in different groups.
Results: Group B , group C and group D had significant less number of tonsillitis attacks and severity of assessed symptoms during 6 months of prophylactic treatment in comparison to control group A, with significant results in group C (i.e. AZT plus Echinacea) and group D (i.e. AZT plus pelargonium sidoides) compared to group B (i.e. AZT alone) Conclusion: The combination of Echinacea or Pelargonium sidoides with AZT achieved better results in prevention of recurrent tonsillitis attacks than AZT alone in pediatric patients with recurrent attacks of tonsillitis.