Clinical efficacy of inosine pranobex in children with acute respiratory viral infections of the upper respiratory tract

Background: the expediency of prescribing antiviral therapy for children with acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) remains a subject of ongoing debate. Inosine pranobex is among the few antiviral agents with established efficacy and safety in pediatric populations; however, clinical data regarding its antiviral activity in the management of ARVI remain of considerable interest Aim: to assess the clinical efficacy of inosine pranobex in the treatment of pediatric patients with upper respiratory tract ARVI. Patients and Methods: this study included 163 children aged 3–17 years who received outpatient treatment for upper respiratory tract ARVI The frequency and patterns of various antiviral drugs use were evaluated. The duration of key clinical symptoms (fever, rhinitis, sore throat), the presence and duration of cough (if present), the duration of the acute disease phase, and the incidence of ARVI-related complications were compared according to the type of antiviral therapy administered Results: at the first pediatric consultation, the majority of patients (63.2%) had already initiated antiviral therapy, with medications obtained by their parents from pharmacies either on the recommendation of pharmacists or through self-selection. Only 36.8% of children commenced antiviral therapy as prescribed by a physician. The most frequently used antivirals were umifenovir (25.2%), inosine pranobex (22.1%), kagocel (17.2%), and rimantadine (10.4%), the latter of which, according to labeling, is indicated solely for the early treatment and prophylaxis of influenza A. The duration of catarrhal symptoms in children receiving inosine pranobex was significantly reduced, by more than one day on average, compared to other groups. Cough during illness was observed in only 19.4% of inosine pranobex recipients, versus 78.0–88.2% in other groups (p<0.05), a 4.0–4.5-fold difference. The acute phase of disease was statistically significantly shorter — by two to three days — in the inosine pranobex group, relative to other antivirals. The incidence of ARVI complications was low and did not differ significantly among the groups Conclusion: the administration of inosine pranobex to children aged 3–17 years with ARVI is associated with a statistically significant reduction in the duration of the acute disease phase (by two to three days) and in catarrhal symptom duration (by more than one day). Cough was 4.0–4.5 times less frequent in patients treated with inosine pranobex compared to those receiving other antiviral agents. These findings support the inclusion of inosine pranobex in clinical guidelines for the management of pediatric ARVI KEYWORDS: children, acute respiratory viral infections, antiviral therapy, inosine pranobex. FOR CITATION: Chernenkov Yu.V., Kurmacheva N.A., Lobanov M.E., Gumenyuk O.I., Panshina E.V., Gasanova S.K., Safarova M.M., Zhukova A.K., Nesterova A.V. Clinical efficacy of inosine pranobex in children with acute respiratory viral infections of the upper respiratory tract. Russian Journal of Woman and Child Health. 2025;8(2):142–148 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2618-8430-2025-8-2-8