European Respiratory Society

ERS 2024: Do saline nose drops reduce the duration of a cold in children?

September 11, 2024

New research presented at the European Respiratory Society’s (ERS) annual meeting found that saline nasal drops reduce the duration of the common cold by 2 days and presented no adverse safety events.

• In the Edinburgh and Lothian Virus Intervention Study in Kids (ELVIS-Kids) trial, researchers investigated whether hypertronic saline (HS) nose drops (2.6%) could reduce the duration of illness in 407 otherwise healthy children ≤6 years of age with an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI).
• Participants were randomized to parent delivered HS nose drops (n=150; 3 drops per nostril, ≥4 times per day until well) or usual care (n=151) at onset of URTI. Nasal swabs were tested daily by PCR for 17 URTI viruses.
• Mean symptom duration was 2 days shorter in the HS group compared with usual care (6 days vs. 8 days). Additionally, in households with children treated with HS, fewer family members developed a URTI than in homes of usual-care participants (46% vs. 61%).

Sources:

(2024, September 6). European Respiratory Society. Saline nasal drops reduce the duration of the common cold in young children by two days. [News release]. https://www.ersnet.org/news-and-features/news/saline-nasal-drops-reduce-the-duration-of-the-common-cold-in-young-children-by-two-days/

Ramalingam, S, et al. A randomized controlled trial of hypertronic saline nose drops as a treatment in children with the common cold (ELVIS-Kids trial). Abstract #OA1985. Presented at: European Respiratory Society Congress; September 7-11, 2024; Vienna, Austria. https://ers.app.box.com/s/2m4iity3v3z128m59bk6cn12xuz51dpr