Nebulised hypertonic saline (3?%) among children with mild to moderately severe bronchiolitis - a double blind randomized controlled trial

摘要

To Assess the efficacy of nebulised hypertonic saline (HS) (3?%) among children with mild to moderately severe bronchiolitis. Infants aged 6?weeks to 24?months, with a first episode of wheezing and Clinical Severity scores (Arch Dis Child 67:289-93, 1992) between 1 and 8, were enrolled over 4?months duration. Those with severe disease, co-morbidities, prior wheezing, recent bronchodilator and steroid use were excluded. Patients were randomized in a double-blind fashion, to receive two doses of nebulized 3?% HS (Group 1) or 0.9?% normal saline (Group 2) with 1.5?mg of L-Epineprine, delivered 30?min apart. Parents were contacted at 24?h and 7?days. The principal outcome measure was the mean change in clinical severity score at the end of 2?h of observation. A total of 100 infants (mean age 9.6?months, range 2–23 months; 61?% males) were enrolled. Patients in both groups had mild to moderately severe disease at presentation. On an intention-to-treat basis, the infants in the HS group had a significant reduction (3.57?±?1.41) in the mean clinical severity score compared to those in the NS group (2.26?±?1.15); [p?