Zinc gluconate and the common cold. Review of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE: To examine the evidence of seven randomized controlled trials (RCT) on the therapeutic effectiveness of zinc gluconate lozenges for treating the common cold. DATA SOURCES: Using the MeSH headings common cold and zinc gluconate, MEDLINE was searched from 1966 on for all published RCTs evaluating use of zinc gluconate for treating the common cold. STUDY SELECTION: For this study, only double-blind RCTs were included. SYNTHESIS: Fair …