BACKGROUND Many patients might be tempted to use nonpharmacological home remedies (NPHRs) to relieve upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) symptoms. However, primary care physicians (PCPs) rarely recommend NPHRs due to a lack of knowledge in this field. We conducted a questionnaire-based survey among primary care patients in Switzerland and France to explore which NPHRs they use and consider effective for 3 common URTI symptoms: sore throat/cough/common cold. METHODS Using official physician registries, we randomly selected 50 PCPs in Geneva (Switzerland) and Lyon/Grenoble (France). Seven research assistants were involved in the recruitment of consecutive patients from the waiting rooms of these PCPs (20-25 patients per practice). Patients were asked to complete a paper-based questionnaire to assess the use and perceived effectiveness of 72 NPHRs for URTI symptoms. The list of NPHRs was developed by our research team with the help of 97 patients. Remedies were considered effective if patients reported that they were effective/very effective. Data were analysed descriptively. RESULTS Of the 1,198 eligible patients, 1,012 agreed to participate (84.5%). The 4 most frequently used NPHRs were honey/lemon/thyme/herbal teas. Most patients using these NPHRs considered them as effective (between 77% of patients for onion syrup for cough and 94% of patients for thyme inhalations for common colds). CONCLUSIONS Many patients reported using honey/lemon/thyme/herbal teas for URTI symptoms, and generally considered these treatments to be effective. Future research should explore the extent to which these remedies can be safely proposed as alternatives for the symptomatic treatment of ear/nose/throat complaints in primary care.

中文翻译：

---

上呼吸道感染的非药物家庭疗法：对瑞士和法国初级保健患者的横断面研究。

背景许多患者可能会倾向于使用非药物家庭疗法（NPHR）来缓解上呼吸道感染（URTI）症状。然而，由于缺乏该领域的知识，初级保健医生 (PCP) 很少推荐 NPHR。我们对瑞士和法国的初级保健患者进行了一项基于问卷的调查，以探讨他们使用哪些 NPHR 并认为它们对 3 种常见 URTI 症状有效：喉咙痛/咳嗽/普通感冒。方法 我们利用官方医生登记册，随机选择了日内瓦（瑞士）和里昂/格勒诺布尔（法国）的 50 名 PCP。七名研究助理参与了从这些 PCP 候诊室招募连续患者的工作（每个诊所 20-25 名患者）。患者被要求填写一份纸质调查问卷，以评估 72 种 NPHR 对 URTI 症状的使用和感知效果。NPHR 清单是我们的研究团队在 97 名患者的帮助下制定的。如果患者报告治疗有效/非常有效，则认为治疗有效。对数据进行描述性分析。结果 在 1,198 名符合条件的患者中，1,012 名患者同意参与（84.5%）。4 种最常用的 NPHR 是蜂蜜/柠檬/百里香/花草茶。大多数使用这些 NPHR 的患者认为它们有效（77% 的患者使用洋葱糖浆治疗咳嗽，94% 的患者使用百里香吸入治疗普通感冒）。结论 许多患者报告使用蜂蜜/柠檬/百里香/花草茶来治疗 URTI 症状，并普遍认为这些治疗方法有效。未来的研究应探讨在多大程度上可以安全地提出这些疗法作为初级保健中耳/鼻/喉疾病症状治疗的替代方案。