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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2023 Oct-Dec;106(4):368504231203130.
doi: 10.1177/00368504231203130.

Effects of nebulized hypertonic saline on inflammatory mediators in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia: A double-blinded randomized controlled trial

Mohammad-Taghi Beigmohammadi  1 , Laya Amoozadeh  1 , Nikoosadat Naghibi  1 , Babak Eslami  1 , Samrand Fattah Ghazi  1 , Mohammad Javaherian  2 , Mohammad-Amin Khajeh-Azad  3 , Bahram Tabatabaei  2 , Alireza Abdollahi  4 , Elham Nazar  5
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of nebulized hypertonic saline on inflammatory mediators in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia: A double-blinded randomized controlled trial

Mohammad-Taghi Beigmohammadi et al. Sci Prog. 2023 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: An exaggerated immune response is considered the most important aspect of COVID-19 pathogenesis. Hypertonic saline (HS) has shown promise in combating inflammation in several respiratory diseases. We investigated the effects of nebulized HS on clinical symptoms and inflammatory status in patients with severe novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pneumonia.

Materials and methods: We randomly assigned 60 adults admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to severe COVID-19 pneumonia to the experimental (received nebulized 5% saline) and control (received nebulized distilled water) groups. All interventions were applied 4 times daily for 5 days. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and other clinical factors from venous blood were evaluated before and after intervention application. Mortality rate, intubation rate, and durations of ICU and hospital stay were also compared between groups.

Results: The levels of TNF-α (MD: -21.35 [-32.29, -10.40], P = 0.000) and IL-6 (-9.94 [-18.86, -1.02], P = 0.003) were lower in the experimental group compared to the control group after applying the interventions. The levels of white blood cell count, PO2, and serum sodium were also statistically significant differences between groups. However, we did not observe significant differences in terms of hospitalization durations and mortality rates.

Conclusion: Nebulization of HS in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia appears to be effective in reducing inflammation, but does not appear to affect intubation rates, mortality, hospitalization, or length of stay in ICU.

Keywords: COVID-19; Nebulized hypertonic saline; hospitalization; inflammatory mediators; pneumonia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Trial profile.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The result of TNF-α (a) and IL-6 (b) before and after interventions. IL-6: interleukin 6; TNF: tumor necrosis factor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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