Study on salt chamber treatment for asthma

Randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate the effects of complementary treatments in asthma. This study from South Karelia Central Hospital investigated the effect of salt chamber treatment as an add-on therapy to low to moderate inhaled steroid therapy in asthma patients with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR).

After a 2-week baseline phase, 32 asthma patients who had BHR on histamine inhalation testing were randomized: 17 patients received a 2-week active treatment in which salt was delivered into the room through a salt generator, and 15 patients received a placebo. The salt chamber treatment lasted 40 minutes and was administered five times per week.

The median provocative dose, which caused a 15% drop in Fev(1), increased significantly in the active group but not in the placebo group. The difference in changes between the active and placebo groups was significant. Nine patients (56%) in the active group and two patients (17%) in the placebo group showed at least a doubling of the dose with a decrease in BHR (P = 0.040). Six patients (38%) in the active group and none in the placebo group becameno longer hyperresponsive. Neither peak expiratory flow (PEF) values measured immediately before and after treatment nor FEV(1) values before the histamine challenges changed. The reduction in BHR was not due to changes in baseline lung function.

Salt chamber treatment reduced bronchial hyperresponsiveness as adjunctive therapy in asthmatics on low to moderate doses of inhaled steroids. It cannot be excluded that salt chamber treatment could serve as an adjunct therapy to conventional medication.