Abstracto

Preventive effect of pleuran (β-glucan from Pleurotus ostreatus) in children with recurrent respiratory tract infections-open-label prospective study.

Jaroslaw Pasnik, Agnieszka ?lemp, Agnieszka Cywinska-Bernas, Krzysztof Zeman1, Milos Jesenak

Background: Recurrent respiratory tract infections (RRTIs) are one of the most common problems in pediatric practice. Several natural preparations are used in management of RRTIs, but the scientific for their efficacy is sometimes insufficient. On the other hand, preventive effect of some natural preparation (e.g. β-glucans) was confirmed by relevant clinical studies. Methods: In our prospective open label study we enrolled 194 children suffering from RRTIs. We aimed to analyse the effect of Imunoglukan P4H® syrup containing pleuran (insoluble β-glucan isolated from Pleurotus ostreatus) on general respiratory morbidity comparing previous year with the same season during the study. Results: Supplementation of Imunoglukan P4H® syrup significantly decreased the total number of respiratory tract infections during the treatment and subsequent follow-up period compared to the same period of the previous year (4.18 ± 2.132 vs. 8.71 ± 1.89; p<0.001). In detail, the number of various types of respiratory tract infections (otitis, laryngitis, bronchitis and flu) was also significantly reduced (p<0.01 for all subtypes of infections). Moreover, a reduction in the number of day-off in kindergarten and school was also noticed. The syrup was well tolerated and no serious adverse effects were observed. Conclusion: Our study supports the use of pleuran in the complementary treatment and preventions of RRTIs in children. β-glucans seem to be an effective and safe tool in the management of RRTIs.