Ectoine-Containing Inhalation Solution versus Saline Inhalation Solution in the Treatment of Acute Bronchitis and Acute Respiratory Infections: A Prospective, Controlled, Observational Study

Table 1

Patient characteristics at baseline.

Treatment		Ectoine	Saline
Number of patients ()		79 (58.5%)	56 (41.5%)
Age (years)	Mean ± SD	45.0 ± 20.0	45.3 ± 18.8
	Median	49.0	47.5
	Minimum	5	5
	Maximum	87	83
Age group N ()	5–11 years old	3 (3.8%)	2 (3.6%)
	12–17 years old	4 (5.1%)	1 (1.8%)
	≥18 years old	72 (91.1%)	53 (94.6%)
Sex N ()	Female	50 (63.3%)	35 (63.6%)
	Male	29 (36.7%)	20 (36.4%)
Diagnosis N ()	Acute bronchitis	37 (46.8%)	27 (48.2%)
	Acute bronchitis and acute respiratory infections	40 (48.2%)	27 (48.2%)
Patients who smoked >10 cigarettes/day (N ())		6 (7.6%)	2 (3.6%)
Asthma patients (N ())		5 (6.3%)	1 (1.8%)

N: number; SD: standard deviation.