Trial reportJournal of medical virology2023
Evaluation the efficacy and safety of N-acetylcysteine inhalation spray in controlling the symptoms of patients with COVID-19: An open-label randomized controlled clinical trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical virology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of N-Acetylcysteine on mortality in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Inflammopharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- A perspective current and past modes of inhalation therapy.Microbial biotechnology · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of combined nebulization of unfractionated heparin, acetylcysteine, budesonide and ipratropium bromide in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 pneumonia: a randomized controlled clinical trial.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Trial
- Evaluation the efficacy and safety of N-acetylcysteine inhalation spray in controlling the symptoms of patients with COVID-19: An open-label randomized controlled clinical trial.Journal of medical virology · 2023Trial
- Therapeutic effect of N-acetylcysteine in severe or critical coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia: A retrospective cohort study.The Journal of international medical research · 2026Article
- Medication, Nutrition, and Hygiene in COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment: A Comprehensive Narrative Review.Global challenges (Hoboken, NJ) · 2025Review
- Antioxidant Therapies as Emerging Adjuncts in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Targeting Oxidative Stress to Enhance Treatment Outcomes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- N-Acetylcysteine in the Treatment of Acute Lung Injury: Perspectives and Limitations.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of COVID-19 Disease and Post COVID Syndrome: The Role of N-acetylcysteine and Acetyl-L-carnitine.Current neuropharmacology · 2025Review
- Role of Antioxidant Therapy in the Treatment and Prognosis of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Current developments in nutrition · 2024Article
- Identification of CD8 T-cell dysfunction associated with symptoms in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID and treatment with a nebulized antioxidant/anti-pathogen agent in a retrospective case series.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Clinical efficacy of N-acetylcysteine for COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Natural Products-Based Inhaled Formulations for Treating Pulmonary Diseases.International journal of nanomedicine · 2024Review
- Effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine in treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 may be in doubt but in uncertainty.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect and safety of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) inhalation spray in the treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This randomized controlled clinical trial study was conducted on patients with COVID-19. Eligible patients (n = 250) were randomly allocated into the intervention group (routine treatment + NAC inhaler spray one puff per 12 h, for 7 days) or the control group who received routine treatment alone. Clinical features, hemodynamic, hematological, biochemical parameters and patient outcomes were assessed and compared before and after treatment. The mortality rate was significantly higher in the control group than in the intervention group (39.2% vs. 3.2%, p < 0.001). Significant differences were found between the two groups (intervention and control, respectively) for white blood cell count (6.2 vs. 7.8, p < 0.001), hemoglobin (12.3 vs. 13.3, p = 0.002), C-reactive protein (CRP: 6 vs. 11.5, p < 0.0001) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST: 32 vs. 25.5, p < 0.0001). No differences were seen for hospital length of stay (11.98 ± 3.61 vs. 11.81 ± 3.52, p = 0.814) or the requirement for intensive care unit (ICU) admission (7.2% vs. 11.2%, p = 0.274). NAC was beneficial in reducing the mortality rate in patients with COVID-19 and inflammatory parameters, and a reduction in the development of severe respiratory failure; however, it did not affect the length of hospital stay or the need for ICU admission. Data on the effectiveness of NAC for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 is limited and further research is required.
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