Respiratory tract infections in children (literature review)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15574/SP.2025.8(152).6469Keywords:
bronchitis, bronchiolitis, upper respiratory tract, lower respiratory tract, pneumoniaAbstract
Respiratory tract infections are among the most frequent disorders in the clinical practice of every pediatrician and pediatric otolaryngologist, and are also associated with significant morbidity and mortality. They are considered the second most important cause of death of children under the age of five and are the leading cause of global child mortality, which is an urgent problem for pediatrics and pediatric otolaryngology.
Aim - based on an analysis of modern literary data, systematize information about respiratory tract infections in the context of the characteristics of their manifestation and the severity of their course.
Data from the scientific literature on modern etiopathogenesis, problems of diagnosis and treatment of respiratory tract infections, their impact on the quality of life and burden on the health care system were analyzed.
In the world of modern ideas, respiratory tract infections are the most frequent disorders in the clinical practice of every pediatrician and pediatric otolaryngologist, and acute lower respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis, are the main cause of morbidity and mortality among young children. They lead to serious medical costs, significantly affect the quality of life and require effective prevention strategies to reduce the burden on the health care system.
Conclusions. The analysis of modern literary sources showed that data on the characteristics of respiratory tract infections in children are insufficient due to the limited role of clinical, laboratory and radiological characteristics, which leads to multiple visits to the doctor and affects the quality of life. Acute respiratory tract infections lead to serious medical costs, and this economic burden tends to increase. In this regard, to reduce morbidity and mortality, recommendations on clinical management and diagnostic issues, research to identify epidemiological and clinical features, effective prevention strategies to reduce the burden on the health care system are needed.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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