Changes of nasal nitric oxide in the treatment of allergic rhinitis with hydrogen-rich saline lavage of nasal cavity
Jin L, Fan K, Zhang X, Zhao Y, Ge Q, Wang Y, Yu S. · Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. 2020;34(3):244–247.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Randomized double-blind self-controlled crossover study
Respiratory health
Other forms
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
Adults with moderate-to-severe persistent allergic rhinitis.
20 participants (11 men and 9 women, aged 19–63 years); all completed both conditions.
Four weeks per condition with a washout of at least four weeks and return of symptom scores to baseline before crossover.
A 100 mL bag of hydrogen-saturated sterile 0.9% saline was used for nasal lavage: 50 mL per nostril, morning and evening, for four weeks.
H₂ dissolved in saline — nasal lavage, not inhaled gas, swallowed water or Brown's gas.
The article calls the solution hydrogen-saturated but does not report a measured numerical dissolved-H₂ concentration.
Not applicable — nasal liquid lavage, not gas inhalation.
No O₂ was co-delivered as part of the intervention.
The same participants received normal 0.9% saline lavage under the crossover protocol.
Outcomes and reported result
Weekly nasal nitric oxide; symptom-response information was linked to an earlier report from the same cohort.
Mean nasal nitric oxide after four weeks was 366.45 ppb with hydrogen-rich saline and 503.25 ppb with normal saline; the mean change was 242.5 versus 97.95 ppb (p=0.002). The current article focuses on this surrogate marker. The 75% versus 55% symptom-response figures originated from the earlier report of the same cohort and are not counted as an independent 20-person study.
The complete free Chinese journal article/PMC copy, crossover schedule, volumes, weekly nasal-nitric-oxide results and cohort overlap with the earlier symptom paper were checked.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit. Null findings, outcome type, study design and precision all matter.
Cautions and applicability
Only 20 participants at one center, short follow-up, limited reporting of sequence generation/concealment and an unmeasured H₂ concentration. Nasal nitric oxide is a surrogate outcome. This article overlaps the cohort reported under DOI 10.13201/j.issn.1001-1781.2018.07.004 and is not independent participant evidence. No funding or conflict statement was located in the accessible article; Hydrogenology does not infer absence.
Short-term nasal-lavage effects on nasal nitric oxide in persistent allergic rhinitis; clinical benefit requires larger independent trials.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Certainty is assessed by important outcome across a complete eligible evidence set, not by attaching a final grade to one source.
Sources and record status
PMID: 32791592 · DOI: 10.13201/j.issn.2096-7993.2020.03.014
Free journal full article and PubMed Central copy.
Free journal article, PubMed metadata and PubMed Central copy; full-text extraction checked 8 August 2026.
2026-08-10