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

M. Beigmohammadi, L. Amoozadeh, N. Naghibi, B. Eslami, Samrand Fattah Ghazi, Mohammad Javaherian, Mohammad-Amin Khajeh-Azad, B. Tabatabaei et al.

Science in progress, 2023

60 participants · 2 citations

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…

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Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 60 participants or records.

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