Management of acute inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract with cough

Abstract

Acute inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract (URTI) accompanied by cough are one of the most common groups of diseases in the world. It includes acute respiratory viral infections, often manifested by rhinosinusitis, tonsillopharyngitis and laryngitis. According to statistics, about 90% of all infectious diseases are acute respiratory infections, with cough accompanying acute respiratory infections in 83% of cases. Cough largely determines the severity of the disease, and its duration over 4 weeks indicates a high probability of process chronicity. Cough with difficult to detach sputum dramatically reduces the patient’s quality of life, bringing discomfort in everyday activities. In addition to the cough, the problem of viral diseases lies in the rather difficult diagnosis at the outpatient stage, due to which excessive prescription of antibiotics occurs. In order to avoid the occurrence of complications, chronicization of the disease and reduce the level of inappropriate prescriptions of antibacterial drugs, it is necessary to apply therapy, aimed both at the etiology, the links of pathogenesis, and the symptoms in order to alleviate the condition of the patient and his speedy recovery. The processes leading to the development of cough in URTI are described in the article; principles of differential diagnostics and peculiarities of therapy of URTI are reviewed. The article presents data on the use of a natural remedy, ivy leaf extract, which helps to get rid of cough in a shorter period of time, thereby improving the well-being of the patient, and is notable for its good tolerability and rare occurrence of side effects, which may surpass synthetic alternatives.