Polyoxidonium® can reduce the risk of developing acute respiratory viral infections and help recover from COVID

A course of preventive treatment with Polyoxidonium^® (azoximer bromide) reduced the incidence of acute respiratory infections in children by almost 3 times^[1]. These and other data on the use of azoximer bromide for the prevention and treatment of seasonal respiratory diseases in adults and children were announced at the 10th anniversary scientific and practical conference "Allergology, immunology and infectology for practicing physicians", held in Sochi on October 1-7.

During the cold season, children, especially preschoolers, are most vulnerable to acute respiratory infections. Frequent acute respiratory infections (ARI) are a serious threat to health, since in 16–30% of cases they are accompanied by complications, including pneumonia, sinusitis, otitis, tonsillitis, bronchial asthma, respiratory and heart failure^[2].

A course of preventive treatment with Polyoxidonium significantly reduced the number of cases of ARI and Covid infection, and also reduced the duration of an ARI episode if the child did fall ill, according to the results of a randomized comparative study involving 900 healthy children aged 3 to 10 years^[3]. Another study demonstrated that prophylactic courses of Polyoxidonium^® (azoximer bromide) helped to reduce the main manifestations of respiratory diseases^[4]: a reduction in the symptoms of adenoiditis in 80% of children, restoration of nasal breathing in 90% of children, and a reduction in the size of the nasopharyngeal tonsil from grade II to grade I in 60% of children.

"Taking azoximer bromide for prophylactic purposes leads to rapid normalization of local immunity indicators of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract — lysozyme and secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA). "The positive effect on local immunity lasts for at least 3.5 months after prophylaxis, providing the necessary protection for children,"

explained Vera Petrovna Vavilova, Dr. habil. med., professor, in her speech.

Another pressing problem that every second adult and every fifth child faces 6 months after an infection is post-COVID syndrome^[5]. Its manifestations include: fatigue and weakness, shortness of breath, decreased tolerance to physical activity, problems with the digestive system, sleep disturbances, increased anxiety, and depression.

"Many patients report a significant decrease in their quality of life after having had COVID — most often they complain of shortness of breath, severe fatigue, chest pain and joint pain. Not everyone succeeds in recovering on their own and returning to their normal, previous life. Such patients definitely require additional support,"

said Konstantin Valerievich Zhdanov, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor, Director of the Children’s Scientific and Clinical Center for Infectious Diseases of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia, and Chief Consultant in Infectious Diseases at the Health Committee of St. Petersburg.

A ten-day course of Polyoxidonium reduced the severity of post-COVID syndrome, contributed to a significant reduction in the frequency of joint and muscle pain, headaches, and loss of smell, according to a study involving 90 patients who had COVID-19 and presented similar complaints 12 weeks after recovery^[6].

Currently, azoximer bromide is included in the updated Temporary Methodological Recommendations of the Russian Ministry of Health for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the new coronavirus infection. According to the document^[7], azoximer bromide is indicated for non-specific drug prophylaxis of COVID-19.

Drug information:

The original drug Polyoxidonium^® (azoximer bromide) was developed and manufactured by the company "Petrovax". It is used for the prevention and treatment of acute respiratory viral infections and influenza in adults and children from 6 months of age^[8]. Clinical trials of the drug for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 began at the height of the pandemic in 2020. In the same year, Polyoxidonium^® was included in Slovakia’s recommendations for the treatment of COVID-19^[9]. The drug is also added to the FMBA Guidelines^[10] for the prevention and treatment of influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the "Influenza in Adults" clinical recommendations of the Russian Ministry of Health^[11]. Polyoxidonium^® is included in the list of vital and essential drugs and is actively used in Russia and abroad, including in the EU (Slovakia).

¹ V. P. Vavilova, A. M. Vavilova, S. A. Tsarkova. Leading-edge non-specific prevention of the new coronavirus infection and acute respiratory infections of other etiology. Pediatrics. Supplement to Consilium Medicum journal, issue 3 (2022): 213–22.

² https://businesspskov.ru/news/214565.html?ysclid=m21ymvxoks330716260

³ V. P. Vavilova, A. M. Vavilova, S. A. Tsarkova. Leading-edge non-specific prevention of the new coronavirus infection and acute respiratory infections of other etiology. Pediatrics. Supplement to Consilium Medicum journal, issue 3 (2022): 213–22.

⁴ Vavilova Vera, Vavilov Alexsandr, Nechaeva Irina, and Tyulyukin Vitaliy. «Azoximer Bromide in the Treatment of Children with Pharyngeal Lymphoid Ring Pathology». BMJ Paediatrics Open 8, issue Suppl 5 (1 July 2024).

⁵ Pazukhina, Ekaterina, Margarita Andreeva, Ekaterina Spiridonova, Polina Bobkova, Anastasia Shikhaleva, Yasmin El-Taravi, Mikhail Rumyantsev, etc. «Prevalence and Risk Factors of Post-COVID-19 Condition in Adults and Children at 6 and 12 Months after Hospital Discharge: A Prospective, Cohort Study in Moscow (StopCOVID)». BMC Medicine 20, issue 1 (6 July 2022): 244.

⁶ Kasyanenko, Kristina, Oleg Veniaminovich Maltsev, Konstantin Vadimovich Kozlov, Konstantin Valerievich Zhdanov, and Ivan Fedorovich Sery. "Evaluation of the effect of azoximer bromide on the severity of clinical manifestations in individuals who have had an infection caused by SARS-CoV-2." Infectious diseases 19, issue 4 (2021).

⁷ https://storage.consultant.ru/site20/202310/27/minzdrav_271023.pdf

⁸ Instructions for use

⁹ https://www.health.gov.sk/Clanok?Hlavna-sprava-COVID-19

¹⁰ https://www.garant.ru/products/ipo/prime/doc/405623221/

¹¹ https://cr.minzdrav.gov.ru/recomend/749_1

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