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Low-concentration hypochlorous acid nasal irrigation for chronic sinonasal symptoms: a prospective randomized placebo-controlled study

  • Rhinology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Low-concentration hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is an endogenous antibacterial and antiviral agent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of HOCl irrigation in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) refractory to medical therapy. Forty-three adult patients (mean age 45.5 years) were enrolled in this study. They were randomly chosen to receive nasal irrigation with either low-concentration HOCl generated by a Salicid device (n = 21), or a placebo (saline; n = 22) for 8 weeks. The outcome measures were scores on the 20-Item SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20), rhinosinusitis disability index (RSDI), nasal endoscopic score, and bacterial cultures. The SNOT-20 scores were significantly lower in the HOCl group than in the placebo group after 2 weeks of treatment (p < 0.05) and remained lower after 4 weeks of treatment. With respect to the RSDI scores, there was a significant improvement in the HOCl group at 1 week after treatment and in both groups at 2 weeks after treatment (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the endoscopic scores between the two groups after the treatment. The bacterial culture rates were lower in the HOCl group than in the placebo group after 4 weeks of treatment, but this was not significant (p > 0.05). Our results showed that low-concentration HOCl irrigation resulted in a greater improvement in CRS symptoms as compared to saline irrigation.

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Acknowledgements

This paper was supported by Konkuk University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Konkuk University Chungju Hospital, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Gugwon-daero 82, Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, 380-704, South Korea

    Myeong Sang Yu, Bo-Hyung Kim, Sung-Ho Kang & Dae Jun Lim

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  1. Myeong Sang Yu
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  2. Bo-Hyung Kim
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  3. Sung-Ho Kang
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Correspondence to Myeong Sang Yu.

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All of authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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The protocol of the study was reviewed and approved by our institutional review board. All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Yu, M.S., Kim, BH., Kang, SH. et al. Low-concentration hypochlorous acid nasal irrigation for chronic sinonasal symptoms: a prospective randomized placebo-controlled study. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 274, 1527–1533 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-016-4387-5

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