Halotherapy in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Objectives: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a complex genetic disorder involving the lower and upper respiratory tract. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of Halotherapy on sinusitis symptoms, dyspnea, pulmonary function tests, and quality of life in CF patients. Study design: This was a pilot open-label before-and-after-study. Settings: The study was performed at the Salt Room® Orlando. Participants were from a single CF care center, and were enrolled in the study between January and June, 2012. Subjects and methods: Patients with clinically stable CF were included in the study. Participants received 9 sessions of HT, 45 minutes each, completed over a 3-week period. Study endpoints include: FEV1 and FVC, Borg dyspnea index test, Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised (CFQ-R), and the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20). Results: Twelve patients completed the study protocol. FEV1 and FVC did not change significantly (p= 0.49 and 0.87, respectively). SNOT-20 score improved by 0.62 points (95% CI -1.03 to -0.2, P = 0.007). There was a trend for improvement in Borg Dyspnea index; the mean score decreased by 0.79 (95% CI -1.64 to 0.05, P=0.065). There was significant improvement in the physical domain, the health perception domain, and the digestive domain.