Efficacy and Safety of Ivy Leaf Dry Extract EA 575 in Cough Management: An Updated Review of Clinical Evidence

EA 575, the ivy leaf dry extract of the herbal medicine Prospan, has been widely used for the management of cough associated with various respiratory conditions. Over the past decade, new evidence has emerged from interventional and non-interventional studies offering a more comprehensive understanding of its efficacy, safety, and tolerability. This review provides an updated synthesis of clinical evidence of EA 575 in pediatric and adult patients with respiratory disease. A total of 27 publications were included, covering 13 interventional trials, 13 non-interventional studies, and 1 meta-analysis. These studies collectively enrolled 102 239 patients, of whom 84 022 received EA 575 treatment. The findings consistently demonstrate that EA 575 improves cough symptoms and lung function, as shown by improvements in the Bronchitis Severity Score, spirometry, and body plethysmography, depending on the parameters that have been assessed. Moreover, the tolerability of EA 575 has been increasingly confirmed through large real-world evidence studies that report a low number of non-serious adverse events. These results reinforce the well-established role of EA 575 in the effective and safe treatment of cough in clinical practice.