Efficacy of Traditional Diagnostic and Therapeutic Methods in the Rehabilitation of Frequently Ill Children

The dissertation is devoted to the assessment of the efficacy of traditional diagnostic and therapeutic methods in the rehabilitation of children who frequently suffer from respiratory diseases. The study focuses on the category of children aged 3–6 years who belong to the group of frequently ill children, experiencing five or more episodes of respiratory diseases per year. Questions regarding the organization of health improvement for this contingent in outpatient settings, specifically in the restorative treatment departments of children's polyclinics, are examined.

The study employs clinical, functional, and special methods of investigation, including clinical blood analysis, electroacupuncture diagnostics by R. Voll's method, and a complex of physiological tests. Special attention is given to the role of complex homeopathic and antihomotoxic preparations in the rehabilitation of frequently ill children. Diagnostic algorithms based on electroacupuncture diagnostics and clinical-instrumental parallels have been developed, and optimal schemes for the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases in polyclinic conditions have been proposed.

The better the health of a nation, the higher the quality of life. Children are the future of a nation. It is precisely the care for the health of children that determines the consciousness of society and is the guarantee of its prosperity. The problem of health formation is especially relevant in early childhood—the preschool and toddler periods, since the main critical periods of immune system formation fall at this time.

However, a number of unfavorable factors impede the formation of immunity. Living in a megacity with a high population density contributes to the rapid spread of respiratory infections [31,41,127,164]. Atypical and severe courses of influenza and acute respiratory diseases in children living in megacity conditions promote the development of polypharmacy, and public awareness in the field of pharmacology makes it possible to widely and not always reasonably use a range of medicinal preparations, including antibiotics, which in turn suppresses the immunological reactivity of the organism and promotes the chronicization of pathological foci [42,127].

According to a number of authors [65,68,122,125], 20–65% of children aged 3–6 years experience 5 or more episodes of respiratory diseases per year and belong to the category of frequently ill children.

Frequent respiratory diseases can lead to significant disturbances of morpho-functional constants of the child's organism, as well as contribute to the disruption of adaptation and the early development of chronic pathology. In addition, frequent respiratory diseases cause significant economic damage and consume substantial material resources [109].

As follows from the above, the efforts of pediatricians and other specialists should be directed toward strengthening the prevention of respiratory diseases and optimizing therapeutic measures.

Despite the achievements made, the health improvement of frequently ill children raises certain difficulties, which are associated with the absence of a unified health improvement program for this contingent, insufficiently resolved questions regarding the role and place of nonspecific prevention, and the polarization of opinions on the use of natural-origin remedies. The above confirms the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach to the health improvement of this category of children and the creation of new organizational forms of rehabilitation, namely, the restorative treatment departments of children's polyclinics.

Existing methods of health improvement for frequently ill children are often accompanied by side effects: the development of dysbiotic disorders, allergic reactions. Moreover, the performance of elimination therapy (washing of tonsillar lacunae, irrigation of the nasopharynx) in the case of pathology of the lymphoid tonsillar ring in young children presents technical difficulties, which reduces the quality of the procedure [15].

Thus, the problem of selecting the most optimal methods for the health improvement of frequently ill children remains only partially resolved.

At the end of the twentieth century, a large number of physicians and researchers turned to the homeopathic therapeutic system. The prescription of homeopathic medicinal preparations, due to their unique manufacturing technology, does not cause toxic or side effects in the organism; their aim is the restoration of disrupted regulatory processes in the organism, the activation of detoxification functions, and the stimulation and support of the organism's own reactions and protective mechanisms [49]. Currently, complex biological (antihomotoxic) preparations have been developed that are available for use by a broad range of physicians and are used to conduct therapy depending on the state of the organism.

It is precisely for the category of frequently ill children that the use of natural-origin remedies, in particular homeopathic preparations, is advisable, as they are effective, safe, and do not create an additional pharmacological burden on the organism. The above makes it possible to use them in outpatient conditions (restorative treatment department of a children's polyclinic, one-day hospital), which is a resource-saving form of medical care for the pediatric population.

Objective of the study:

To substantiate the efficacy and appropriateness of using traditional diagnostic and therapeutic methods in the rehabilitation of frequently ill children in polyclinic conditions.

Research objectives:

1. To assess the health status of frequently ill children using clinical, functional, and special methods of investigation.

2. To determine the informativeness, role, and place of electroacupuncture diagnostics by R. Voll in the screening assessment of health status during dispensary examination of the pediatric population.

3. To identify the most informative biologically active points reflecting the magnitude of adaptive reactions, the dynamics of the health status of frequently ill children, and the effectiveness of the correction being carried out.

4. To determine the role of complex homeopathic and antihomotoxic preparations in the rehabilitation of frequently ill children on the basis of the restorative treatment department during dynamic observation.

5. To develop diagnostic algorithms using electroacupuncture diagnostics and clinical-instrumental parallels, and to implement them in the examination programs for frequently ill children.

Scientific novelty:

For the first time, the method of electroacupuncture diagnostics has been applied for mass examination of health status and control of the effectiveness of therapeutic and rehabilitation programs in the conditions of a restorative treatment department.

A relationship between clinical and anamnestic data and laboratory results and the results of examination by electroacupuncture diagnostics (EAD) has been demonstrated.

A group of biologically active points (BAP) that most informatively reflect the health status of frequently ill children has been identified, and on this basis a diagnostic algorithm for the examination of children with frequent respiratory diseases has been developed.

The advantage of preventive therapy for frequently ill children using natural-origin remedies over other health improvement methods has been demonstrated from both medical and pharmacoeconomic standpoints; on this basis, the most effective schemes for the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases in polyclinic conditions have been proposed.

Practical significance:

The most effective rehabilitation programs for the health improvement of frequently ill children in outpatient conditions have been developed. The use of homeopathic and antihomotoxic preparations is a highly effective and safe method that allows for their long-term use.

Dynamic examination of frequently ill children by the method of electroacupuncture diagnostics will make it possible to use this method for assessing health status, determining the corridor and adaptation for each child, making predictions, identifying risk groups, and controlling the effectiveness of therapy. The method of electroacupuncture diagnostics makes it possible to determine the necessity, appropriateness, and timing of repeat preventive courses, as well as the duration of stay in the restorative treatment department.

Measurement of the most significant biologically active points will make it possible to identify an integral indicator of the level (quality) of health, as well as to reduce the time of examination without reducing its informativeness.

Implementation of research results in practice:

Diagnostic and rehabilitation programs for children in health groups II–III using complex homeopathic and antihomotoxic preparations have been implemented in the restorative treatment departments of children's city polyclinics No. 102 and No. 55 of the North-Eastern Administrative Okrug (SE AO), and in the homeopathic rehabilitation department of City Clinical Hospital No. 80 of the South-Western Administrative Okrug (SW AO) of Moscow.

The results obtained during the studies on the optimization of diagnostics and health improvement of frequently ill children are used in the educational process during practical classes and seminars for students and resident physicians at the departments of pediatric diseases No. 3 (Head of Department — Prof. V.F. Dyomin), hospital pediatrics of the Moscow Faculty with a course of Traditional Medicine and Laboratory Diagnostics (Head of Department — Prof. L.I. Il'enko), ENT diseases of the medical faculty (Head of Department — Prof. M.R. Bogomilsky), and economics of the Moscow Faculty (Head of Department — Candidate of Medical Sciences, Prof. S.V. Polyakov) of the Russian State Medical University.