Symptomatic treatment of cough in children

Abstract

Cough is one of the most common symptoms in paediatric practice. Cough nature, duration, intensity, frequency, time and cause of occurrence should be considered in the differential diagnosis of its causes. Sputum evacuation disorders and changes in its rheological properties are indications for the prescription of mucoactive drugs. Despite the fact that the drugs included in this group have different mechanisms of action, all of them restore mucociliary clearance and lead to effective evacuation of secretions from the respiratory tract. Herbal medicinal products can be used along with classic mucoactive drugs (mucolytics, mucopegulators and mucokinetics). Ivy leaves are an example of a well-known and meticulously researched source of phytopharmaceutical products, they are included in the ESCOP monograph and entered into the positive list of the German Commission E. The efficacy and safety of ivy leaf products have been demonstrated in various controlled clinical studies. The authors presented a review of published clinical studies and non-interventional studies involving a total of 65,383 patients suffering from both acute and chronic respiratory diseases. The studies demonstrated the efficacy of ivy leaf extract preparations as achievement of a higher level of bronchodilation and surfactant production, which led to bronchospasmolytic, secretolytic, expectorant and, in turn, antitussive action. Herbal medicinal products are now actively used in the treatment of new coronavirus infection. Hedelix is one of the ivy leaf extract pharmaceutical preparations approved for use in children over the age of two years.