ARVI in children: choice of approach in the treatment of cough

Abstract

According to official statistics,  acute  respiratory  infections  (ARI) always rank highest  among  the  infectious  diseases,  especially among  children. In Russia, the  annual  rate  of ARI is at least  70–80,000 diseases  per 100,000  children’s population  (3.3 times higher than in adults) without downward trend. Reduction and relief of symptoms is one of the main objectives  in the treatment of acute  respiratory infections  in children. Fever, runny nose, sore throat, and cough are the most common symptoms that  affect the health  condition  of children. Cough is one of the top five reasons  for patients to seek medical treatment, as it is a common symptom in both outpatient and hospital practice. In particular, the majority of acute and chronic bronchopulmonary diseases  are almost always accompanied  by cough, and patients with chronic cough of unclear  etiology account  for 10 to 38% of patients in the  practice  of a pulmonologist. Many articles  give much attention to cough and its causes, describe  treatment methods. The rational choice and use of antitussive  therapy in pediatrics involve the knowledge of at least two main factors: the causes of cough and the features  of the mechanism  of cough reflex in children, as well as the mechanisms  of action of antitussive  drugs used. The necessity to treat  cough as such i.e. to prescribe  the so-called  antitussive  therapy arises when a child has unproductive, dry, persistent  cough. The article discusses the potential causes and mechanisms  of the production of cough in children, in particular dry cough, and considers  using central  and peripheral  antitussive  drugs in paediatric  practice. Special attention is given to the efficacy and safety of the antitussive  drug butamirate citrate.