French researchers report hypertonic saline was not superior to normal saline nebulized treatments in preventing hospitalization or ICU admission in infants with bronchiolitis.

The goal of a recent study was to evaluate whether nebulized hypertonic saline (3%) was more beneficial than nebulized normal saline (0.9%) in the treatment of infants presenting to the emergency department with bronchiolitis. This randomized, double-blind clinical trial was conducted in 24 pediatric EDs in France from October 2012 through April 2014, covering two bronchiolitis seasons.

The infants were 6 weeks to 12 months old, and all were experiencing their first episode of bronchiolitis. Infants were excluded for prematurity or any other chronic medical condition as well as if they were admitted to the intensive care unit from the ED.