Acute bronchitis – modern possibilities of mucactive therapy

Aim. Analysis of the clinical effectiveness and safety of erdosteine use in comparison with standard (real practice) mucoactive therapy in patients with acute bronchitis (АВ) in adults.
Materials and methods. The observational program included 100 adult patients with АВ, 50 of them (group 1) received erdosteine, the group 2 also included 50 patients who received acetylcysteine, bromhexine and other mucolytics (real clinical practice). The following were assessed: cough severity, average time for resolution of night and daytime cough, satisfaction with treatment, NO concentration in exhaled air, levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).
Results. The average duration of relief of severe daytime cough requiring continued therapy was: in group 1 – 3.7±0.46 days, night cough – 1.14±0.94 days. In the second group, daytime cough was relieved in 3.8±0.4 days, night cough – 1.08±0.7 days. The duration of mucoactive therapy in group 1 was 5.32±0.82 days, in group 2 this figure was 8.5±1.4 days (p<0.05). The number of АВ patients with a significant reduction in the severity of productive cough (1 point on cough severity scale) on the 6th day from the beginning of treatment in group 1 (erdosteine) amounted to 32 (64%), in group 2 – 27 (54%). Satisfaction with the treatment was higher in the group receiving erdosteine: according to the indicators "very satisfied" and "extremely satisfied" the patients of the group 1 – 42 – were the leaders in comparison with the group 2, where these positions were marked by 28 patients. The level of CRP in patients with АВ in group 1 was 24.7±21.24 mg/l, in group 2 – 16.37±16.5 mg/l, which indicates the viral etiology of the process and no need in the prescription of antimicrobial drugs. For the first time in Russian practice, the following were determined: the level of IL-6, which in the group 1 was 10.3±6.7 pc/ml; in the group 2 – 10.03±3.94 pc/ml; the level of exhaled NO in group 1 was 16.5±5.1 ppb, in group 2 – 14.9±4.6 ppb (the norm is up to 25 ppb). These indicators, against the background of mucoactive therapy, decreased to normal values by 6th day.
Conclusion. The findings expand our understanding of АВ in adults. New results have been obtained on the role of CRP, IL-6 and NO in exhaled air during АВ. The use of erdosteine was accompanied by a significant mucoactive effect in the form of a pronounced regression of cough in patients with АВ compared to the comparison group in shorter term.