Effect of adjunctive sodium hyaluronate versus surfactant nasal irrigation on mucociliary clearance in allergic rhinitis: a single-blind, randomised, controlled study.

Abstract

To investigate the effects of nasal irrigation with sodium hyaluronate and surfactant solutions on mucociliary clearance time in patients with mild persistent allergic rhinitis. A total of 120 patients diagnosed with mild persistent allergic rhinitis were enrolled in this prospective study. The patients were allocated randomly to the surfactant, sodium hyaluronate or isotonic saline (as a control) nasal irrigation group. The mucociliary clearance times and improvements in mucociliary clearance times were compared. Improvements in mean mucociliary clearance time were significantly greater in the surfactant and sodium hyaluronate groups than in the control group (p < 0.01). The mean post-treatment mucociliary clearance time of the surfactant group was significantly lower than that of the control (p < 0.001) and sodium hyaluronate groups (p = 0.03). Surfactant and sodium hyaluronate nasal irrigation solutions may both be used as adjunctive treatments for allergic rhinitis. Surfactant nasal irrigation resulted in better mucociliary clearance times.