Background: As February 2023, SARS-CoV-2 is still infecting people and children worldwide.
Cough and
dyspnea are annoying symptoms almost present in a large proportion of
COVID-19 outpatients, and the duration of these symptoms might be long enough to affect the patients' quality of life. Studies have shown positive effects for
noscapine plus licorice in the previous
COVID-19 trials. This study aimed to assess the effects of the combination of
noscapine and licorice-for relieving
cough in outpatients with
COVID-19. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 124 patients at the Dr. Masih Daneshvari Hospital. Participants over 18 years of age with confirmed
COVID-19 and
cough were allowed to enter the study if the onset of symptoms was less than 5 days. The primary outcome was to assess the response to treatment over 5 days using the visual analogue scale. Secondary outcomes included the assessment of
cough severity after 5 days using
Cough Symptom Score, as well as the
cough-related quality of life and
dyspnea relieving. Patients in the
noscapine plus licorice group received Noscough® syrup 20 mL every 6 h for 5 days. The control group received
diphenhydramine elixir 7 mL every 8 h. Results: By day five, 53 (85.48%) patients in the Noscough® group and 49 (79.03%) patients in the
diphenhydramine group had response to treatment. This difference was not statistically significant (p-value = 0.34). The presence of
dyspnea was significantly lower in the Noscough® group versus
diphenhydramine at day five (1.61% in the Noscough® group vs. 12.9% in the
diphenhydramine group; p-value = 0.03). The
cough-related quality of life and severity also significantly favored Noscough® syrup (p-values <0.001). Conclusion:
Noscapine plus licorice syrup was slightly superior to
diphenhydramine in relieving
cough symptoms and
dyspnea in the
COVID-19 outpatients. The severity of
cough and
cough-related quality of life were also significantly better in the
noscapine plus licorice syrup.
Noscapine plus licorice may be a valuable treatment in relieving
cough in
COVID-19 outpatients.