From treatment to prevention: the role of interferon inductor in acute respiratory infections in children

Acute respiratory infections represent a serious medical and social problem, particularly among children under five years of age, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Infections of the upper and lower respiratory tracts are caused by a wide range of pathogens, with viral agents playing a predominant role. Clinical practice demonstrates frequent cases of bacterial-viral co-infections in the respiratory tract, associated with a worsening of the disease course and an increased risk of complications. The COVID-19 pandemic has made substantial adjustments to the epidemiology of respiratory viruses, altering the usual dynamics of their spread and seasonality. In the current circumstances, the selection of an effective antiviral and/or immunomodulatory agent with a broad spectrum of action has become particularly relevant. The complexity of preventing and treating acute respiratory infections is due to the diversity of viral agents, numbering over two hundred serotypes capable of causing respiratory diseases. In this regard, significant practical interest lies in interferon inducers, which can stimulate the body’s nonspecific immune response. In this review, the authors analyse contemporary data from domestic and foreign literature, and also present their own experience regarding the clinical efficacy of the antiviral and immunomodulatory drug in the treatment and prevention of acute respiratory infections in children. Drag has demonstrated high clinical efficacy and a favourable safety profile in a number of clinical studies. The extensive evidence base obtained during these studies has allowed for the recommendation of the drug for widespread use in the treatment and prevention of acute respiratory viral infections and influenza in children aged three years and older. In the context of a changing epidemiological situation, further scientific research aimed at an in-depth study of the mechanisms of its action and expansion of indications for its use will allow more effective use of the therapeutic potential of this drug in respiratory diseases of various etiologies.

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