A Monash Health-led nasal spray study has captured national attention, highlighting the power of local research to tackle major health challenges. Discover what the study found, why it matters, and what it could mean for patients and communities.
A new study, led by Monash Health, has found that a simple saline nasal spray could help many children breathe and sleep better, potentially saving them from surgery and specialist care.
Researchers at Monash Children’s Hospital’s Melbourne Children’s Sleep Centre, in collaboration with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, the Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash University, have shown that a daily saline nasal spray can be highly effective in relieving symptoms of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing (OSDB).
OSDB, also known as obstructive sleep apnea, is a condition where the upper airway becomes partially or fully blocked during sleep, leading to pauses in breathing and a common cause of poor sleep, snoring, behavioural problems and other health impacts in children.
Obstructive sleep-disordered breathing affects up to 12% of children and is the leading reason for tonsil and adenoid removal in Australia. The study’s findings suggest that many children could first try a simple, low-cost option before seeing a specialist.
The large clinical trial, known as MIST+, involved 150 children aged 3 to 12 years who had been referred to specialists for sleep-related breathing difficulties. The children first received a 6-week course of saline spray. Remarkably, nearly one in 3 children improved with saline nasal spray alone, with their symptoms resolving completely.
Children who still had symptoms were then randomly assigned to receive either a steroid nasal spray or continue with saline for another 6 weeks. The results showed no difference between the two treatments. Over 12 weeks, 50% of the children had recovered – avoiding the need for specialist care and surgery.
Lead author of the MIST+ study and Paediatric Respiratory and Sleep Specialist at Monash Children’s Hospital, Adjunct Clinical Professor Gillian Nixon, said the findings challenge the assumption that surgery and steroid sprays are necessary for treating children with sleep-related breathing problems.
‘We know how important sleep is for the health and development of kids, and we now understand that a simple saline nasal spray could be key to unlocking good sleep,’ Prof Nixon said.
‘Available at your local chemist, saline nasal sprays alone can make a real difference for many children to sleep better without the need for steroid sprays or surgery, which come with a higher chance of potential side effects, costs, and longer recovery time.’
‘This is great news for parents and families. With the guidance of your GP, families should consider saline for 12 weeks to help resolve common symptoms associated with obstructive sleep apnea before turning to specialist care and surgery.’
The MIST+ study was supported by the Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation.
The study has been published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Here is the story on 10 News – Prof Gillian Nixon interview 210126 on Vimeo and on 9 News World-leading nasal spray study makes national media headlines on Vimeo.
