A promising direction for improving the treatment of acute upper respiratory tract infections

Acute rhinitis and acute rhinosinusitis are the most common reasons for seeking medical attention. In the context of antibiotic abuse, modern herbal medicines are a promising alternative to conventional treatments. Objective. To compare the course of acute nasopharyngitis of viral etiology and acute rhinosinusitis on the background of therapy in accordance with the current protocols and with additional administration of therapy with the herbal preparation Sinupret extract, taking into account gender differences. Patients and methods. The study summarized the results of examination and dynamic observation of 2498 patients with acute nasopharyngitis of viral etiology aged 12–17 years. All patients were prescribed standard therapy of acute nasopharyngitis of viral etiology (acute respiratory viral infections): irrigation therapy, imidazolylethanamide pentandic acid according to the scheme, decongestants, amoxicillin clavulanate if indicated. A part of patients received it only (group 2, n = 1243). Some patients (group 1, n = 1255) in addition to the above therapy received the herbal medicine Sinupret® extract one tablet 3 times a day for 14 days. Results. On the fourth day after the onset of the disease, the clinical picture of acute nasopharyngitis in patients of the compared groups differed significantly: asthenia, headache, myalgia, febrile and subfebrile temperature, nasal obstruction, cough and hoarseness of voice in group 1 patients were noted less frequently than in group 2 patients. In boys, the incidence of nasal obstruction in Group 1 decreased to 52.0% and 6.0% on days 3 and 7 of therapy, respectively, and to 74.4% and 16.7% in Group 2. In girls, the frequency of nasal obstruction decreased in Group 1 to 30.7 and 5.9% after 3 and 7 days of treatment, respectively, and to 59.8 and 15.8% in Group 2. Conclusion. Supplementation of acute respiratory infection therapy with Sinupret extract reduces adverse learning outcomes in patients 12–17 years of age and reduces the need for antibiotic therapy. Key words: nasopharyngitis, phytotherapy, acute respiratory infection, herbal medicine, treatment, children