Combined drugs in the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections: a review of research results

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections are of the greatest economic significance among all infectious diseases in the Russian Federation. There are no drugs with a direct antiviral effect for most acute respiratory viral infections, which efficacy would have been proven in the numerous clinical trials and confirmed by the results of meta-analyses today. The use of various combinations of antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant drugs is the most common method of symptomatic and pathogenetic therapy of acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI). The purpose of this review is to analyse and systematize the results of preclinical and clinical trials aimed at studying the safety and efficacy of fixed-doses combinations of paracetamol, pheniramine maleate, phenylephrine hydrochloride and ascorbic acid in the ARVI therapy. The search of scientific publications was carried out in the PubMed, ClinicalKey ELSEVIER and Google Scholar databases. The search depth was 10 years. The results of numerous comparative and placebo-controlled trials showed that the use of fixed-dose combinations of paracetamol, pheniramine maleate, phenylephrine hydrochloride and ascorbic acid in the ARVI therapy was pathogenetically justified, safe, and effective in relieving symptoms such as fever, rhinitis, cough, muscle and joint pain, sore throat, and headache. The combination drugs can ease the patient’s condition and help shorten the duration of the illness provided that they are administered in due time. Meanwhile, the pathogenetic effects of combination drugs aimed at localizing the focus of inflammation and minimizing the risk of complications warrant further research.