[Development of a method for evaluating the effectiveness of treatment of children with herpetic stomatitis.]

The high frequency of herpes infection in children determines the need to search for new diagnostic markers, evaluate treatment efficacy and predict relapse of the disease. The purpose of the work is to assess the possibility of using biochemical analysis of oral fluid to assess the effectiveness of treatment of children with acute herpetic stomatitis. In the oral fluid and blood plasma of 28 children of patients with acute herpetic stomatitis in the dynamics of the disease, the content of total protein, proteins of the acute phase of inflammation, as well as the concentrations of calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc was determined spectrophotometrically. Oral fluid and blood plasma of 45 practically healthy children were used as a control. In acute herpetic stomatitis, the content of C-reactive protein, orosomucoid, α1-antitrypsin, ceruloplasmin, prealbumin and microalbumin, as well as magnesium, calcium and zinc, increases in the oral fluid of children, but the level of total protein and transferrin decreases. In this blood plasma, the level of ceruloplasmin, orosomucoid, C-reactive protein, α1-antitrypsin is higher, and zinc is lower than in healthy children. The copper content in the oral fluid and blood plasma of children increases with moderate herpetic stomatitis, and significantly decreases with severe herpetic stomatitis. The degree of changes in the content of the proteins of acute phase of inflammation and indicators of mineral metabolism of the oral fluid and blood plasma of children with a herpetic infection of the oral cavity correlates with the severity of the disease. Highly significant correlations were revealed when comparing the concentrations of proteins of the acute phase of inflammation, electrolytes between the oral fluid and the blood plasma of children with acute herpetic stomatitis. After treatment of children with acute herpetic stomatitis, the content of minerals and proteins of the acute phase of inflammation in the oral fluid returned to normal only with a mild disease severity. A method has been developed for evaluating the effectiveness of treatment of children with acute herpetic stomatitis by determining the content of minerals in the oral fluid. The ratio of copper to calcium in the oral fluid of children more than 45 should be considered an indicator of effective treatment of children with herpetic stomatitis.