Trial reportScientific reports2019
A pilot, open labelled, randomised controlled trial of hypertonic saline nasal irrigation and gargling for the common cold.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 5 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 57 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Double Blind, Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial of Gargling Agents in Reducing Intraoral Viral Load Among Laboratory Confirmed COVID-19 Patients: GARGLES STUDY
Hypertonic saline coated face mask for reducing respiratory symptom severity in patients with covid-19
A Single-center, Open-label, Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of Sino-nasal and Mouth Cavity Rinse With an Iodine-based Solution in Reducing Viral Load in Asymptomatic Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19)
Washing COVID-19 Away With a Hypertonic Seawater Nasal Irrigation Solution Containing Algal and Herbal Natural Ingredients
Intranasal Lavage With Hypochlorous Acid Safely Reduces the Symptoms in the Ambulatory Patient With COVID-19.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 108 citations in OpenAlex.
- Washing Illness Away: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Nasal Irrigation and Spray on COVID-19.The Laryngoscope · 2025Pooled it
- Saline nasal irrigation and gargling in COVID-19: Part II. Outcomes in Omicron and risk-benefit for self-care.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Do hydrogen peroxide mouthwashes have a virucidal effect? A systematic review.The Journal of hospital infection · 2020Pooled it
- Nasal sprays and a behavioural intervention for respiratory tract infections in primary care: 12-month follow-up of a randomised open-label trial.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Trial
- Double-blind randomised trial of saline solution for gargling and nasal rinsing in SARS-CoV-2 infection.Journal of global health · 2024Trial
- Hypertonic saline nasal irrigation and gargling for suspected or confirmed COVID-19: Pragmatic randomised controlled trial (ELVIS COVID-19).Journal of global health · 2024Trial
- Efficacy of physiological seawater nasal irrigation for the treatment of children with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 variant infection: a randomized controlled trial.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2024Trial
- Pharmacokinetic-based failure of a detergent virucidal for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) nasal infections: A preclinical study and randomized controlled trial.International forum of allergy & rhinology · 2022Trial
- Nasopharyngeal Wash with Normal Saline Decreases SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load: A Randomized Pilot Controlled Trial.Canadian respiratory journal · 2022Trial
- Interim analysis of an open-label randomized controlled trial evaluating nasal irrigations in non-hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019.International forum of allergy & rhinology · 2020Trial
- Electrolyte-rich saline solutions significantly improve nasal epithelial repair, ciliary beating and epithelial inflammation vs. normal saline.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 infection and its effects on toxicity and survival in non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a matched cohort study.BMC cancer · 2026Article
- Effects of Various Local Antibacterial Preparations on Bacterial Density in Pharyngeal and Tonsillar Mucosa of Patients with Acute Pharyngitis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Observational
- Guideline for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of respiratory syncytial virus infection in children in China.Pediatric investigation · 2025Article
- Nasal Irrigations: A 360-Degree View in Clinical Practice.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
- Efficacy of hypertonic nasal spray with algae in rhinosinusitis.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Observational
- Povidone-iodine nasal spray (NasodineFrontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- A qualitative process evaluation of a nasal spray intervention to prevent respiratory tract infections.PloS one · 2025Article
- Estimating All-Cause Deaths Averted in the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign in Italy.Vaccines · 2024Article
- Significance of saline nasalirrigation for COVID-19 infection: observations and reflections from nursing care of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.Translational cancer research · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
There are no antivirals to treat viral upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Since numerous viruses cause URTI, antiviral therapy is impractical. As we have evidence of chloride-ion dependent innate antiviral response in epithelial cells, we conducted a pilot, non-blinded, randomised controlled trial of hypertonic saline nasal irrigation and gargling (HSNIG) vs standard care on healthy adults within 48 hours of URTI onset to assess recruitment (primary outcome). Acceptability, symptom duration and viral shedding were secondary outcomes. Participants maintained a symptom diary until well for two days or a maximum of 14 days and collected 5 sequential mid-turbinate swabs to measure viral shedding. The intervention arm prepared hypertonic saline and performed HSNIG. We recruited 68 participants (2.6 participants/week; November 2014-March 2015). A participant declined after randomisation. Another was on antibiotics and hence removed (Intervention:32, Control:34). Follow up data was available from 61 (Intervention:30, Control:31). 87% found HSNIG acceptable, 93% thought HSNIG made a difference to their symptoms. In the intervention arm, duration of illness was lower by 1.9 days (p = 0.01), over-the-counter medications (OTCM) use by 36% (p = 0.004), transmission within household contacts by 35% (p = 0.006) and viral shedding by ≥0.5 log
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.