Hydrogen and Nitric Oxide Combo Helps Long COVID Patients Breathe Better
- Authors
- D D Pozdnyakova, I A Baranova, V D Selemir, O S Medvedev, A G Chuchalin
- Journal
- Terapevticheskii Arkhiv
- Year
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.26442/00403660.2026.03.203537
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Russia
- Health Condition
- Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
- Body System
- Respiratory
TL;DR
Combined nitric oxide and hydrogen inhalation improved symptoms, exercise capacity, and oxidative stress more than nitric oxide alone in post-COVID patients, with no serious adverse events.
Key Finding
Patients who inhaled a combination of nitric oxide and molecular hydrogen showed greater improvements in breathing difficulty, exercise tolerance, and quality of life compared to those receiving nitric oxide alone or no treatment.
Summary
This study tested whether breathing a combination of two medical gases—nitric oxide and molecular hydrogen—could help 60 patients recover from breathing problems and fatigue related to long-COVID. Over 10 days, patients either received both gases together, nitric oxide alone, or no treatment. The combination therapy group showed the most improvement in shortness of breath, cough, fatigue, and ability to walk, plus better blood flow and less cellular damage compared to the other groups.
Practical Takeaway
While this small human study suggests combined inhaled nitric oxide and hydrogen therapy may help with post-COVID respiratory symptoms, the research is limited by its small size (60 patients) and short duration (10 days). More extensive studies would be needed to confirm whether this approach could be a practical treatment option for long-COVID patients.
Abstract
BackgroundMedical gases, inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) and molecular hydrogen (iH2), have been used in the therapy for various medical conditions. When combined, these gases have shown to be more effective and safer for patients, and may become a promising treatment option for various diseases рost-COVID-19 syndrome (PS).AimTo compare the efficacy and safety of combined therapy iNO/iH2 with monotherapy iNO and a control group in patients with respiratory disorders during with PS.Materials and methodsA prospective, open-label, controlled trial involving 60 patients with PS was conducted in parallel groups (the mean age of the participants was 58.1 ± 12.9 years, and the sample consisted of 18 men and 42 women). The participants were randomly assigned to 3 groups: 1 (n = 20) - iNO/iH2 treatment; 2 (n = 20) - only iNO treatment; and 3 (n = 20) - control group. The duration of treatment was 10 days, and the treatment involved inhalation through a nasal cannula for 90 minutes (flow rate of 4 liters per minute, iH2 concentrations ResultsThe course of iNO/iН2 and iNO led to regression of the clinical manifestations of PS (dyspnea, cough, fatigue), improved the physical and psychological component of quality of life, and contributed to improvement in microcirculation (increased venule diameter and velocity) compared to the control group (p p ConclusionThe study demonstrates the advantage of the iNO/iH2 course in comparison with iNO and control in the rehabilitation program of patients with PS. The safety and effectiveness of the iNO/iH2 course has been proven in the form of regression of clinical manifestations of PS, improvement of quality of life, exercise tolerance, microcirculation parameters, and restoration of the oxidative status of the body.