Neuraminidase Inhibitors for Influenza A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Regulatory and Mortality Data

The authors reviewed regulatory information from 46 trials of oseltamivir and zanamivir for influenza in adults and children. They found that oseltamivir and zanamivir reduce the time to symptom improvement in adults with influenza-like illness. Neither oseltamivir nor zanamivir was found to reduce influenza complications, hospitalizations, or deaths. Oseltamivir increases the risk of nausea, vomiting, and psychiatric events in adults and vomiting in children, but may reduce the risk of diarrhea and cardiac events in adults. The authors found a minimal preventive effect of using oseltamivir or zanamivir as prophylaxis.