The rational treatment approach to infectious inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory airways in children
Infectious inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory airways are the most common among respiratory disorders. Issues in the management of infectious inflammation in upper airway mucosa are the diversity of infective agents, generation of biofilms, suppression of normal microflora, the lack of accurate and rapid laboratory tests for the analysis of the microbiota of upper airway mucosa, the risk of superinfection and complications after treatment with chemical antiseptics and antibacterial drugs. All these factors underscore the need for a more careful and rational approach to selecting therapy for the upper respiratory airways’ infectious inflammatory diseases, particularly preparations that preserve human microflora (a factor of mucosal immunity) and are characterized by a broad spectrum of activity on various pathogens. In addition, the human organism produces a variety of antimicrobial factors that relieve the burden of colonizing microbes. One of these antimicrobial factors, lysozyme, is a natural antiseptic found in high concentrations in fluids on mucosal surfaces. The results of clinical and laboratory studies have proven the effectiveness of lysozyme-containing drugs, which increases the prospects for their wider application in pediatric practice.