Efficacy of Inhaled Corticosteroid/Long-Acting Beta-agonist on Post Infectious Cough: A Pilot Study

Presenter: Dr. Trent Chang-Wei WU.

Post-infectious cough has reportedly become more prevalent in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, prompting evaluation of inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta-agonist (ICS/LABA) therapy as a potential treatment approach. This prospective cohort study included 25 adults with cough occurring 3–8 weeks after an upper respiratory tract infection; patients with concurrent airway disease or steroid use were excluded. Participants received ICS/LABA (Symbicort or Relvar) for up to 4 weeks, with weekly follow-up. Mean age was 50.8 years, mean cough duration was 4.8 ± 2.5 weeks, 56% were female, and 92% were never-smokers. Mean cough VAS decreased from 10.0 at baseline to 3.7 on day 7 and 1.2 on day 28 (p < 0.001). Cure/significant improvement rates increased from 24%/68% at day 7 to 68%/84% at day 28 (p < 0.001). No pneumonia cases occurred. In this small cohort, ICS/LABA was associated with substantial improvement in cough severity and reported as safe over 28 days; randomized controlled evaluation is warranted.

Inhaled Hypertonic Saline in Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Lung Disease: Clinical Outcomes and Translational Evidence

Presenter: MD, PhD Sheng-Wei Pan.

This prospective study evaluated the effects of inhaled 3% hypertonic saline (HS) in antibiotic-naïve patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTM-LD). Forty-five antibiotic-naïve NTM-LD patients were enrolled during 2024–2025, including those receiving daily inhaled 3% HS and the controls. At 3 months, total VAS symptom scores decreased significantly with HS from 10 [7–17] to 6 [3–7] (p<0.001), whereas the change in controls from 7 [4–11] to 5 [4–10] was not significant (p=0.250). GEE analysis identified significant treatment-by-time interactions, with HS treatment resulting in greater improvement in VAS scores (β −4.40, 95% CI −6.41 to −2.39; p<0.001) and sustained sputum smear negativity (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.05–0.69; p=0.013). In vitro, HS inhibited extracellular Mycobacterium abscessus growth dose-dependently, also 3% HS pretreatment reduced intracellular burden by 51% (p=0.021) without compromising macrophage viability or phagocytosis and leading to upregulation of TNF-α and IL-6. Overall, Inhaled HS improved symptoms and sputum smear outcomes in NTM-LD, supporting its potential as an adjunctive therapy.

ERS Congress 2026, 5-9 September, Barcelona, Spain