Therapeutic possibilities of sodium chloride saline solutions in relieving symptoms of exacerbation of chronic rhinosinusitis

Introduction . Chronic rhinosinusitis accompanied by nasal breathing difficulty, nasal discharge, hyposmia and facial pain is a common disease. Aim . To study the corrective role of 0.08% sodium hypochlorite and 2.1% hypertonic solution in relieving symptoms of exacerbation of chronic rhinosinusitis and improving the patients’ quality of life. Materials and methods . A total of 79 patients (aged 18 to 63 years) diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis, exacerbation (ICD-10 code: J32) were enrolled in the study. The patients were divided into two groups. The control group received a standard treatment for exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis based on clinical guidelines. In addition to the course of conservative therapy, patients of the treatment group received an antiseptic nasal spray containing sodium hypochlorite at a concentration of ≤ 0.08%, 2.1% sodium chloride, 0.05% lithium magnesium sodium silicate and purified water. The patients’ life distress index was assessed based on data collected using the PSOM-31 questionnaire. The follow-up visits were Days 5 and Day 10 of treatment. Results and discussion . The patients of Group 2 reported the greatest changes in the severity of nasal symptoms at Day 10 of treatment, which amounted to 6.2 scores, whereas in Group 1 they amounted to 10.7 scores. At Day 10, the most disturbing general symptoms were reported by the patients of Group 1 as compared to the patients of Group 2: 16 vs 18.3 scores, respectively. Emotional deficiencies were less pronounced on Day 10 in patients of Group 2 (7 scores) as compared to Group 1 (8.7 scores). Conclusion . Addition of a sodium hypochlorite-based agent containing 2.1% hypertonic sodium chloride solution to the standard therapy for exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis improves the patients’ well-being indices. Assessment of the survey results using the PSOM-31 questionnaire shows the maximal reduction in symptom severity and improvement of well-being indices on Day 10 of treatment, which confirms the accumulation of therapeutic effects of the antiseptic agent.