Chemotherapeutics in the therapy of influenza and other viral respiratory infections in children

During different epidemic seasons, we conducted clinical and laboratory observations to study the therapeutic efficacy of rimantidine and arbidol in children with influenza and mixed viral infections, under both inpatient and outpatient settings. In the rimantidine trial, 742 school aged children and 60 children aged 3-6 years were observed who had been diagnosed with influenza type A, type B, types A and B, influenza in conjunction with other viral illness, or acute viral respiratory illness of non-influenza etiology. 402 children received rimantidine, and 400 received a placebo. The drug was given at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg body weight, 3 times a day for 3 days. In the arbidol trial, 158 children ages 1-14 years, with the diagnoses influenza type A, influenza in conjunction with other viral illness, or acute viral respiratory illness of non-influenza etiology were observed. Arbidol was administered at a dose of 10mg/kg body weight per day, given in 4 doses per day, for 5 days. Both drugs proved to be therapeutically effective in all influenza and acute viral respiratory illness types, particularly when the drugs were administered at the early stages of illness. With the drugs, the duration of fever, other symptoms of toxicity, and the amount of viral isolation were reduced. The medications did not produce adverse effects in the children, nor did they inhibit cell-mediated or humoral immunity, or the production of antiviral antibodies. The dynamics of markers for cellular immunity and macrophages confirmed the existence of immunostimulating activity in arbidol.