Viral pneumonia: a new look at an old problem (review)

Abstract

The relevance of pneumonia remains at the forefront and has recently attracted the attention of not only the entire medical community, but also all political and economic institutions of most countries of the planet. This nosology continues to be in the center of attention, identifying one of the key causes in the frequency of mortality of the population. The presented article accumulates the most up-to-date theses regarding viral pneumonia on the basis of a review of a large number of scientific literature, domestic and foreign studies. Although the term “viral pneumonia” has been used in medical practice for more than a century, nevertheless, there is no final diagnostic algorithm and an established final concept. The article reflects special historical medical and philosophical aspects in the study of pneumonia from the time of Hippocrates to the present. The epidemiological features, etiology, and also the terminological base of viral pneumonia are updated, thereby the concept of viral pneumonia in medical categories is fixed. A promising classification of viral pneumonia according to ICD-XI is presented. Attention is drawn to the autopsy morphological characteristics of the bronchopulmonary organ complex in viral pneumonia, post-mortem descriptions are given with links to authoritative research sources. The main modern diagnostic capabilities of the scientific medical community in the detection of pneumonia are described, the issues of the formation of new diagnostic algorithms are reflected. The clinical picture of viral pneumonia is described in detail, the clinical concept of the phase course of the disease based on pathomorphological data is presented for the first time. The main modern groups of drugs for etiotropic and pathogenetic treatment of the disease are considered. The conclusion reflects the main problematic postulates and prospects for further study of the disease.