title: Effectiveness of 3% hypertonic saline nebulization in acute bronchiolitis among Indian children: A quasi-experimental study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the effects of 3% hypertonic saline (HS) and 0.9% normal saline with nebulized 0.9% normal saline with salbutamol in patients of acute viral bronchiolitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were divided into three groups, that is, 3% HS group, 0.9% normal saline group and 0.9% saline with salbutamol group. Four doses at interval of 6 h were given daily until discharge. Average CS score and length of hospital stay were compared. One-way analysis of variance paired t-test and Chi-square test were utilized for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean ages of the patients in three groups were 6.03 ± 3.71, 5.69 ± 3.34 and 5.48 ± 3.35 respectively. The 3(rd) day CS scores for all the groups were 1.0 ± 1.1, 1.9 ± 1.1 and 3.3 ± 0.5 respectively (P = 0.000). The average length of hospital stay was 3.4 ± 1.7, 3.7 ± 1.9 and 4.9 ± 1.4 days respectively (P = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study concludes that 3% HS nebulization (without additional bronchodilators) is an effective and safe treatment for nonasthmatic, moderately ill patients of acute bronchiolitis. The economic benefit of this comparably priced modality of treatment can be enormous in terms of hospital costs with parents returning to work sooner.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, GGS Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, Punjab, India.
authors.forename: Harsh V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Vivek V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, GGS Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, Punjab, India.
authors.forename: Gurmeet
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chaitanya Hospital, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Amitoz S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Baidwan
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, AL Azhar Dental College and Hospital, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Pardeep P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: George
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Government Dental College and Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
authors.forename: Jay C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Kushal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinde
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Ruku
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Mahatma Gandhi Dental College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Neha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chitkara
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Krushnan V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Bajaj
keywords: 0.9% normal saline; 0.9% saline with salbutamol; 3% hypertonic saline; acute bronchiolitis