Breathing Hydrogen Gas Shrinks Lung Nodules and Reduces Inflammation
- Authors
- Xiaohui Wei, Wei Zhang, Yuanyuan Li, Xiaojuan Sha, Hongpeng Yi, Chao Cui
- Journal
- Drug Design, Development and Therapy
- Year
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.2147/DDDT.S605134
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Small Pulmonary Nodules
- Body System
- Respiratory
TL;DR
Hydrogen-oxygen inhalation was associated with smaller pulmonary nodules and lower IL-6 and neutrophil levels, but the small, short-term study requires confirmation.
Key Finding
Patients who inhaled hydrogen-oxygen gas for 14 days showed a 0.64 mm reduction in lung nodule diameter and decreased inflammatory markers (IL-6 and neutrophil count) compared to controls at 3-month follow-up.
Summary
Researchers tested whether breathing a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas could help patients with small lung nodules (spots found on CT scans). Fifty-nine patients either breathed hydrogen-oxygen gas or regular air for 14 days. After 3 months, the hydrogen-oxygen group showed slightly smaller nodule size and lower levels of inflammatory markers (IL-6 and neutrophils, which are immune cells that increase with inflammation) compared to the control group. The effect was stronger in patients who smoked.
Practical Takeaway
This small, single-center study suggests hydrogen-oxygen inhalation may have anti-inflammatory effects and could potentially help slow lung nodule growth, particularly in smokers. However, the study involved only 59 patients over 3 months, so these early findings need confirmation in larger, multicenter trials before any clinical recommendations can be made. The clinical significance of a 0.64 mm reduction in nodule size remains unclear.
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effects of hydrogen-oxygen inhalation on nodule diameter and peripheral blood inflammatory factors in patients with small pulmonary nodules (SPNs), and to further analyze its efficacy in the smoking subgroup. The primary endpoint was the change in pulmonary nodule diameter before and after intervention; secondary endpoints included alterations in serum IL-6, CRP, peripheral blood neutrophil count, and Mayo malignant transformation risk score. Methods: A total of 59 patients with SPNs confirmed by chest CT were enrolled and randomly divided into the observation group (hydrogen-oxygen inhalation, n=30) and control group (air inhalation, n=29). The intervention lasted 14 consecutive days, and all indicators were re-examined at 3-month follow-up. This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) with the registration number ChiCTR2300076152 (registration date: September 26, 2023). Results: Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were well balanced between the two groups (all P>0.05). After intervention, the observation group had a significant reduction in nodule diameter by 0.64 mm (95% CI: 0.20-1.08, P0.05). In the smoking subgroup, IL-6 level and neutrophil count also decreased significantly after hydrogen-oxygen inhalation (both P<0.01), while CRP remained relatively stable. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this single-center, small-sample study with a 3-month follow-up, hydrogen-oxygen inhalation can reduce SPN diameter and downregulate peripheral blood IL-6 and neutrophil levels, exerting a targeted anti-inflammatory effect especially in smoking patients. It may serve as a safe non-invasive adjuvant intervention for SPNs, while further multicenter large-sample studies are needed to validate its general applicability.