Squeeze bottle versus syringe nasal saline irrigation for persistent allergic rhinitis - a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Nasal irrigation is widely used as an adjunctive treatment for allergic rhinitis. There is little evidence regarding the efficacy of the devices used in this procedure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the squeeze bottle nasal saline irrigation in persistent allergic rhinitis patients compared with a syringe. METHODOLOGY: We included patients between 18- and 60-years old presenting with persistent allergic rhinitis. All patients were instructed to perform nasal irrigation twice daily for four weeks. The patients were randomly assigned to use either the squeeze bottle nasal irrigation or a syringe for nasal irrigation. Symptoms score, physical examination results, satisfaction scores and adverse events were collected. RESULTS: There were 116 patients enrolled in the study, 58 of whom used the squeeze bottle nasal irrigation system and 58 of whom used a syringe. During a four-week follow-up, improvements in patients' nasal symptom scores for rhinitis symptoms were significantly greater in the group treated with the squeeze bottle. However, the physical examination score was no statistically significant difference. No adverse events were reported. The overall satisfaction scores for both devices were excellent. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the regular use of nasal irrigation with a positive-pressure device, particularly a squeeze bottle, as an effective adjunctive treatment for allergic rhinitis. It is effective for reducing allergic rhinitis symptoms and can be used by patients with good compliance and minimal side effects.

A randomized controlled study comparing the efficacy of nasal saline irrigation devices in children with acute rhinosinusitis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of positive-pressure nasal irrigation devices in children with acute sinusitis, in addition to bacterial colonization of the irrigation device. METHOD: We performed a randomized, prospective, controlled study of 80 children with acute sinusitis, aged between 3 and 15 years. Participants were randomly separated into two groups, where one group was treated using a squeezable bottle and the other group treated using a syringe. All patients were instructed to use a 1.25% buffered hypertonic solution for nasal irrigation twice daily for 2 weeks, in addition to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. During this period, all participants recorded a 5S score, satisfaction score, any side effects and use of antihistamines. Parents were instructed to clean the device with soap after each use. After this period, the nasal irrigation devices were sent to a microbiological laboratory for bacterial identification. RESULTS: At the 2-week follow-up, improvement in both 5S and satisfaction scores were observed in both groups compared to baseline, which were significantly higher in the group treated with the squeezable bottle compared to the syringe. Few complaints were reported, and side effects were equal in both groups. The overall rate of bacterial contamination for both treatments was approximately 80%, but this did not translate into higher rates of infection amongst patients. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a squeezable bottle for nasal irrigation in children with acute sinusitis was associated with further improvements in 5S and satisfaction scores compared to syringe use, and there were no significant differences in bacterial contamination between methods.

Nasal irrigation with Nasir® in children: a preliminary experience on nasal cytology.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) and upper airway respiratory infections are frequent in children, and both have a relevant impact on some social aspects, including school attendance and performance, sleep, quality of life (also of the parents), and costs. Saline nasal irrigation is widely employed to reduce nasal congestion and mucopurulent secretion, to stimulate cleansing of the nasal and paranasal cavities, and to induce restoration of mucociliary clearance. The present study evaluated the effects of nasal irrigation on nasal cytology, using the new device Nasir® in 66 children (40 males, 26 females, mean age 7.31±1.7 years, age range 4-17 years) with allergic rhinitis. The patients were treated with nasal irrigation with warm (36°C) Nasir® (250 mL sacs of premixed solution): one sac twice daily for 12 days. Nasal irrigation significantly reduced the neutrophilic infiltrate (baseline median value 2.8±0.7; post treatment value 2±0.5; p less than 0.05). In addition, there was a reduction of eosinophil infiltrate (T0= 3.2±1.1; T1= 2.6±1.2; p= less than 0.05). There was no significant change with regard to bacteria (T0= 2.7±0.9; T1= 2.3±1.02; p= 0.17). In conclusion, this pilot study reports that nasal irrigation with Nasir® might be useful to attenuate upper airway inflammation.

Efficacy of nasal irrigations and nebulizations for nasal symptom relief.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review current literature regarding the use and utility of nasal saline irrigation in nasal and sinus diseases. RECENT FINDINGS: Nasal irrigations, in various forms, are a widely used and accepted means of treatment of the symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis and other sinonasal disease processes. Over the past two decades, significant research has been done to evaluate the role of nasal irrigations in the treatment of sinonasal disease. The use of a high-volume, low-pressure system like a squeeze bottle remains the optimal delivery device. Although additional research is required for many of the additives discussed, the use of xylitol in chronic rhinosinusitis and topical fluconazole in allergic fungal sinusitis appear promising. SUMMARY: Use of nasal saline irrigations can improve symptoms of sinonasal disease and may improve outcomes in certain settings. Ongoing research will continue to shape and optimize understanding of maximally effective nasal irrigations.

Hypertonic saline is more effective than normal saline in seasonal allergic rhinitis in children.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a very common childhood disease that is associated with a significant reduction in the patients' quality of life. Its treatment combines educating the patients and their parents, immunotherapy and drug administration. However, even the best approach does not relieve the symptoms of a number of patients. Alternative therapies are particularly needed for children because the fear of adverse events frequently reduces parental compliance to the prescribed drugs, and immunotherapy is less easy to administer than in adults. In this prospective investigator-blinded study we evaluated whether children, with a documented history of seasonal grass pollen-related AR, benefit from nasal irrigation by assessing the effects on nasal signs and symptoms, on middle ear effusion and on adenoidal hypertrophy. We randomized children aged 5 to 9 years (median age 82 months) to normal saline or hypertonic saline (a 2.7% sodium chloride solution), administered twice-daily using a disposable 20 ml syringe, or no treatment. Nasal symptoms (rhinorrhea, itching, sneezing, nasal obstruction), swelling of turbinates, adenoid hypertrophy or middle ear effusion were assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment. Two hundred and twenty children (normal saline: 80; hypertonic saline: 80; no treatment: 60) completed the study. After four weeks, all the considered items were significantly reduced in the group receiving hypertonic saline (P < 0.0001), whereas in the group receiving normal saline only rhinorrhea (P = 0.0002) and sneezing (P = 0.002) were significantly reduced. There was no significant change in any of the items in the control group. The duration of oral antihistamines was significantly lower in the children receiving hypertonic saline than in those treated with normal saline or in controls. No adverse events were reported and parental satisfaction and compliance with the procedure were globally very good, regardless of the solution used. Using our procedure, hypertonic saline is effective, inexpensive, safe, well tolerated and easily accepted by children with seasonal grass pollen-related AR and their parents. Our data suggest that nasal irrigation with hypertonic saline might be included in the wide spectrum of therapies recommended for grass-pollen AR.