Place of Immunostimulating Drugs in the Treatment of Respiratory Infections

Abstract

Every year, influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most people infected with respiratory viruses have an asymptomatic and uncomplicated course of the disease. ARVI is the most common infectious disease affecting all age groups. Among the causes of temporary loss of working capacity, they occupy the first place – even in the inter-epidemic period, 1/6 of the planet’s population is sick because of them. The objective: to analyse the efficacy of immunostimulating agent in treatment of ARVI on outpatient level. Materials and methods. 322 patients from 18 to 65 years old with symptoms of acute respiratory disease participated in the study. Patients were divided into two groups: 250 people who received symptomatic treatment were included in the control group, 72 patients who received symptomatic treatment and immunostimulating drug – in the experimental group. Results. The study showed that in the experimental group the average time for temperature normalization was 5.0 days, while in the control group it was 7.47 days (p<0.05); disappearance of headache occurs in 5.57 and 7.4 days respectively (p<0.05), disappearance of muscle pain – in 5.0 and 7.4 days (p<0.05). Conclusions. Non-specific drugs with wide spectrum of action are increasingly used in treatment of acute viral respiratory diseases, in particular, – remedies for stimulation of the immune response in the early stages of the disease, which can significantly shorten the period of fever and improve the general patients wellbeing. Timely treatment with immunostimulants can alleviate the severity and duration of clinical symptoms, help to avoid hospitalization and development of complications, reduce the burden on the outpatient department and use of antibiotics.