This paper provides the results of a study evaluating the efficacy and safety of etiotropic therapy in patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Objective. Тo evaluate the efficacy and safety of favipiravir (Areplivir) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and compare it with recommended standard therapy. Patients and methods. Two hundred men and women aged between 18 and 80 years with COVID-19 were randomized into this study. The experimental group included patients who received favipiravir, whereas the control group comprised patients who received causal therapy in accordance with the latest version of the temporary methodical recommendations of the Ministry of Health of Russia ‘Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of coronavirus infection (COVID-19).’ The efficacy and safety of therapy were evaluated by assessing clinical improvement using the WHO Ordinal Scale for Clinical Improvement, clinical and laboratory parameters, findings of chest computed tomography (CT), and elimination of SARS-CoV-2. We also analyzed the frequency and type of adverse events, need for invasive and non-invasive ventilation, and death rates. Results. Our analysis has demonstrated significant benefits of favipiravir over standard therapy in terms of the time to clinical improvement (in the experimental group it was 4 days shorter on average), time to recovery, frequency of recovery after 10 days (44% of patients from the experimental group and 10% of patients from the control group had no clinical signs of the disease at this time-point), and frequency of virus elimination by day 10 of therapy. Treatment with favipiravir was associated with a significant improvement in the lung condition (according to CT), normalization of laboratory parameters, and saturation level. Favipiravir has demonstrated a good safety profile similar to that of standard therapy. There was no difference in the frequency of adverse events between the experimental and control groups. Conclusion. The use of favipiravir for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection reduced the time to clinical improvement by 4 days on average compared to standard therapy, ensured improvement of the lung condition (according to CT scans), and facilitated virus elimination in more than 90% of patients, thereby promoting faster recovery. Favipiravir had a good safety profile and was well tolerated by patients. This treatment regimen was shown to be effective, sufficient, and clinically reasonable to achieve good outcomes. Timely initiation of therapy with favipiravir (Areplivir) improves disease prognosis and reduces the global socioeconomic burden of the current pandemic. Key words: COVID-19, Areplivir, coronavirus, causal therapy, favipiravir

The microbiota of the respiratory tract remains a relatively poorly studied subject. At the same time, like the intestinal microbiota, it is involved in modulating the immune response to infectious agents in the host organism. A causal relationship between the composition of the respiratory microbiota and the likelihood of development and the severity of COVID-19 may be hypothesized. We analyze biomaterial from nasopharyngeal smears from 336 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, selected during the first and second waves of the epidemic in Russia. Sequences from a similar study conducted in Spain were also included in the analysis. We investigated associations between disease severity and microbiota at the level of microbial community (community types) and individual microbes (differentially represented species). To search for associations, we performed multivariate analysis, taking into account comorbidities, type of community and lineage of the virus. We found that two out of six community types are associated with a more severe course of the disease, and one of the community types is characterized by high stability (very similar microbiota profiles in different patients) and low level of lung damage. Differential abundance analysis with respect to comorbidities and community type suggested association of Rothia and Streptococcus genera representatives with more severe lung damage, and Leptotrichia, unclassified Lachnospiraceae and Prevotella with milder forms of the disease.

Background The role of the selective antimuscarinic imidafenacin in Caucasian patients with overactive bladder (OAB) has not been previously assessed. Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of imidafenacin 0.2 mg vs tolterodine 4 mg per day in patients with OAB. Design Setting and Participants This study was a randomized, open‐label, tolterodine‐controlled, comparative multicenter trial of 300 randomized patients with OAB symptoms for 12 weeks with full analysis of 289 patients. Outcome Measurements and Statistical Analysis Based on 5‐day bladder diaries, the primary efficacy endpoint was the change in the mean number of micturitions per day. The secondary endpoints were the change in the mean incontinence episodes, voiding frequency, the OAB Awareness Tool score, and the European Quality of Life Questionnaire (EQ‐5D) score. The superiority of tolterodine over imidafenacin in the mean number of micturitions/24 hours was the null hypothesis. Results and Limitation The median age was 46.6 years, and 82% of patients were female. After treatment, the change in the mean number of incontinence episodes was −2.1 ± 2.2 in the imidafenacin group and −1.9 ± 1.8 in the tolterodine group (P = .001). The change in the mean number of daytime incontinence episodes was −1.7 ± 1.7 and −1.5 ± 1.4 ( P = .01). The OAB Awareness Tool score decreased by 14.2 ± 8.5 and 14.5 ± 8.0, respectively ( P = 0.5). Most adverse events were mild and resolved without treatment. Conclusions The clinical efficacy and safety of imidafenacin are not inferior to those of tolterodine for the treatment of Caucasian patients with OAB. Patient Summary Imidafenacin is as effective as tolterodine for the treatment of OAB.

Abstract. The study proposes the way of data organization to store the information obtained as the result of measurements of morphological structures of prostate gland preparations in the computer microscopy system. The proposed data structure provides fast access to object features in interactive analysis of preparation images during oncologic diagnostics of prostate gland diseases.

Цель исследования-изучить эффективность и безопасность применения препарата фавипиравир (Арепливир) у больных COVID-19 по сравнению с рекомендованной стандартной терапией. Материал и методы. В исследование были рандомизированы 200 мужчин и женщин в возрасте от 18 до 80 лет с COVID-19. Основную группу составили пациенты, получавшие лечение препаратом фавипиравир, в группе сравнения пациентам назначали этиотропную терапию в соответствии с актуальной версией Временных методических рекомендаций Минздрава России по профилактике, диагностике и лечению новой коронавирусной инфекции (COVID-19). Эффективность и безопасность терапии определяли на основании оценки клинического улучшения по Категориальной шкале клинического улучшения Всемирной организации здравоохранения, клинико-лабораторных данных, результатов компьютерной томогра