Comparative Study of 3% Hypertonic Saline Nebulisation Versus 0.9% Normal Saline Nebulisation for Treating Acute Bronchiolitis

Introduction: Bronchiolitis is commonly noticed condition in children, especially in infants and characterised by inflammation of bronchioles. Inspite of this common occurrence the evidence for the treatment options is limited. Aim: To compare the effect of 3% Hypertonic Saline (HS) nebulisation with 0.9% Normal Saline (NS) nebulisation for treating acute bronchiolitis in moderately ill hospitalised infants and children (<18 months) on Length Of Hospital Stay (LOS) and improvement in clinical severity score. Materials and Methods: This is a randomised controlled trial, done in a tertiary care paediatric hospital over a period of one year from April 2014 to March 2015. Out of 189 children randomised, 96 patients and 93 patients received HS nebulisation and NS nebulisation respectively. Treating doctors and patients were blinded to intervention and outcome. Results: Reduction in clinical severity score in 3% HS nebulisation group was 2.26 (0.684) and in 0.9% NS nebulisation group was 1.23 (0.492), with statistically significant p<0.001. LOS in 3% HS nebulisation group was 1.45 (0.540) days and in 0.9% NS nebulisation group was 2.35 (0.619) days with mean difference of 0.91 (0.084) day with statistically significant p<0.001. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that 3% HS nebulisation is safe and effective treatment for infants up to the age of 18 months hospitalised with acute bronchiolitis and decreases hospital stay by about one day.