Chemotherapeutics for treatment of influenza and other viral respiratory tract infections in children

: Therapeutic efficacy of remantadine and arbidole was studied in the clinical and laboratory observation of pediatric in- and outpatients with grippe and mixed viral infections in various seasonal epidemic. In the trial of remantadine 742 school children and 60 children at the age of 3 to 6 years with type A, B or A + B grippe, grippe in association with other acute viral respiratory tract infections or acute viral respiratory tract infections of nongrippe etiology were observed. 402 and 400 of them were given remantadine and placebo respectively. The drug was used in a single dose of 1.5 mg/kg body weight 3 times a day for 3 days. In the trial of arbidole 158 children at the age of 1 to 14 years with type A grippe, grippe + acute viral respiratory tract infection and acute viral respiratory tract infection of nongrippe etiology were observed. The arbidole daily dose of 10 mg/kg body weight was given in 4 portions for 5 days. Both the drugs were shown to be therapeutically efficient in all the grippe types and acute viral respiratory tract infections. The highest efficacy was observed when the use of the drugs was started at the early stages. With the use of the drugs the periods of fever, other intoxication signs and virus isolation decreased. No adverse reactions were recorded. The drugs had no inhibitory effect on the cellular and humoral immunity and on production of antiviral antibodies. The dynamics of the indices of the cellular immunity and macrophages confirmed the arbidole immunostimulating action.