Remantadine in the treatment of influenza in children

: The therapeutical efficacy of remantadine was studied in influenza in- and out-patients aged 3-14 years during consecutive influenza epidemics. The drug was given to ill children on the first or second day from the onset of the disease at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg of body weight 3 times a day for 3 days. The curative effect of remantadine was established not only in influenza A, but also in influenza B infections, as well as in mixed infections with other respiratory agents and with pathogens of non-influenza etiology, which might be the result of its antitoxic activity. Remantadine application decreased fever and complication rates and reduced the duration of intoxication symptoms and the diseases as a whole. A more pronounced drug activity was observed when given to children on the first day of the diseases. Remantadine exerted no toxic effect on the basic functions of the child's body. Ill children displayed no inhibitory activity on cell and humoral immunity, as well as on a serum antibody response to hemagglutinin of influenza virus.