Acute respiratory infections in outpatient care in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic: the role and position of antibacterial therapy

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract are currently the leading cause of human morbidity, mainly due to the seasonal rise of the incidence rates of viral infections. This results in the heavy burden of annual health care costs. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem. The associations between respiratory viruses and bacteria are not always clear thus accounting for the diversity of the risks of the complicated course and fatal outcomes of various bacterial viral coinfections. Influenza virus is associated with the high rate of bacterial complications (in particular, during seasonal peaks). Meanwhile, this is less typical of the novel coronavirus infection. In addition, several studies demonstrate the competitive edge of SARS-CoV-2 when interacting with other respiratory viruses. The specificities of viral bacterial associations greatly affect the treatment whose inadequacy (in particular, the prescription of antibiotics) is the leading cause of the increasing antimicrobial resistance of contemporary germs. The novel coronavirus infection SARS-CoV-2 is no exception in terms of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing as occurred often in the seasonal rise of acute respiratory viral infections. The understanding of this issue, the optimization of treatment strategies, and a reduction in health care costs will allow for preserving antibiotics as a class of highly effective medications. KEYWORDS: acute respiratory infections, COVID-19, bacterial coinfection, outpatient care, lung damage, antimicrobial therapy. FOR CITATION: Khamitov R.F. Acute respiratory infections in outpatient care in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic: the role and position of antibacterial therapy. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2020;4(4):214–218. DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2020-4-4-214-218.