[POLYOXIDONIUM IN COMPLEX PREVENTIVE TREATMENT FOR TUBERCULOSIS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS]

The paper presents the results of studying the clinical and immunological efficacy of the immunomodulator polyoxidonium in the preventive treatment of tuberculosis in children and adolescents in combination with antituberculous drugs. The study was performed in 50 children and adolescents from the most threatened tuberculosis risk groups (tuberculosis contact and tuberculosis-infected) who needed preventive antituberculosis treatment with one or two drugs for 3-6 months. The use of polyoxidonium in the study group (n = 21) could reduce the time of preventive treatment to 2 months and cause no progression of tuberculin reaction or signs of intoxication and acute respiratory disease. The administration of antituberculous drugs only in 29 children was followed by tuberculin reaction progression in 46-57% of children, which required preventive treatment for as many as 6 months. The immunological effect of polyoxidonium appeared as elevated T-cell levels, the activation of neutrophil phagocytosis and bactericidity. Inclusion of polyoxidonium into the preventive treatment of tuberculosis has shown a higher efficiency of complex preventive therapy and a reduction in the time of using antituberculous drugs for the prevention of tuberculosis, which is very important, bearing in mind fact that there may be adverse reactions when antituberculous treatment is long used.