Current evidence suggests nebulised 3% saline may significantly reduce the length of hospital stay among infants hospitalised with non-severe acute viral bronchiolitis and improve the clinical severity score in both outpatient and inpatient populations.

Background Airway edema and mucus plugging are the predominant pathological features in infants with acute viral bronchiolitis. Nebulized hypertonic saline solution may reduce these pathological changes and decrease airway obstruction. Objectives To assess the effects of nebulized hypertonic saline solution in infants with acute viral bronchiolitis.

We performed a prospective observational study to define the clinical course and the prognostic factors of 31 patients with postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans. All patients presented with an episode of acute bronchiolitis in the first 2 years of life, and respiratory symptoms and signs persisted since then. Other diseases which may cause chronic airflow obstruction were excluded. The patients were followed after their inclusion in the study and the clinical findings were recorded in a standardized questionnaire and form. Repeated chest radiographs and lung perfusion scans were obtained in all 31 patients and semiannual spirometry was performed in 8 older patients. Eight patients had lung biospies. The clinical course varied in the 31 patients during a mean of 3.5 years of follow‐up. The outcome of the patients included clinical remission (22.6%), persistence of respiratory symptoms and signs (67.7%), and death (9.7%). An older age at onset of illness and presence of atopy as suggested by an elevated serum IgE appeared to predispose to a poor prognosis. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2000; 29:341–350. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

We conducted a meta-analysis of randomised trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of inhaled antibiotics in patients with stable non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis.We searched the Cochrane Airways Group Register of Trials from inception until March 2014. 12 trials with 1264 adult patients were included, of which five were unpublished studies. Eight trials on 590 patients contributed data to the meta-analysis. Amikacin, aztreonam, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, colistin or tobramycin were used for 4 weeks to 12 months. Inhaled antibiotics were more effective than placebo or symptomatic treatment in reducing sputum bacterial load (five trials; weighted mean difference -2.65 log 10 CFU?g -1 , 95% CI -4.38--0.92 log 10 CFU?g -1 ), eradicating the bacteria from sputum (six trials; risk ratio 4.2, 95% CI 1.66-10.64) and reducing the risk of acute exacerbations (five trials; risk ratio 0.72, 95% CI 0.55-0.94). Bronchospasm occurred in 10% of patients treated with inhaled antibiotics compared with 2.3% in the control group (seven trials; risk ratio 2.96, 95% CI 1.30-6.73), but the two groups had the same withdrawal rate due to adverse events (12.2%).Inhaled antibiotics may provide an effective suppressive antibiotic therapy with an acceptable safety profile in adult patients with stable non-CF bronchiectasis and chronic bronchial infection. @ERSpublications Inhaled antibiotics are effective with an acceptable safety profile in adults with stable non-CF bronchiectasis