Modern possibilities of treatment of inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract of viral etiology

Viral diseases of the respiratory tract are one of the most pressing health problems worldwide. Influenza viruses, parainfluenza, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, herpes viruses, enteroviruses, ESNO and Coxsackie viruses, penetrating by airborne droplets and affecting mucous membranes, cause catarrhal inflammation at the sites of invasion, which is accompanied by rhinitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, laryngitis, tracheitis. Viruses determine a complex of immunological disorders leading to an imbalance of cellular and humoral immunity factors, a change in mucociliary clearance, which contributes to the chronic persistence of viruses and the attachment of bacterial infection. The authors consider the features of the clinical course of viral lesions of the respiratory tract, possible complications and approaches to the treatment of these conditions. In the absence of effective etiotropic treatment for most respiratory viral infections, the possibility of influencing the course of the disease by stimulating phagocytosis, T-lymphocytes, reducing the production of proinflammatory cytokines and increasing the level of immunoglobulins and interferons is of great importance. The authors discuss the prospects of using inosine pranobex, a synthetic purine derivative, as an immune–stimulating and non-specific antiviral agent in the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract caused by viral infection. The incidence of influenza and acute respiratory viral infections exhibits seasonal patterns, however in addition to sick contacts, the immune system status is also important, which explains the recurrence of viral infections in young children and adults with chronic somatic pathology accompanied by immunosuppression. At the same time, the physiological features of the early life immune system are primarily characterized by the insufficiency of cellular and humoral factors of local immunity. This circumstance takes on particular and important significance in the context of insufficient effectiveness of respiratory viral infections therapy with available antiviral and symptomatic drugs and allows to consider the prospects for using immunostimulating agents. The authors conclude that inosine pranobex is effective and safe in the treatment of a wide range of respiratory viral infections.