Treatment of Umbilical Granuloma in Infants With Topical Application of Common Salt: A Scoping Review

Infographic · Jul 2023 · 1 min read

In brief

Scoping review of 24 studies demonstrates 93.91% success rate for treating infant umbilical granulomas with topical common salt application, with no reported complications. This safe, inexpensive home remedy shows strong efficacy but lacks high-quality RCT evidence to support formal clinical guidelines.

Common salt application achieves 93.91% success rate for umbilical granuloma without complications or recurrence.
Salt treatment is a safe, inexpensive home remedy that can be recommended as first-line therapy for umbilical granuloma.
No adverse events reported across 24 studies involving over 1,100 infants treated with topical salt.
Evidence base lacks high-quality RCTs; current recommendations rely on cohort studies and case series.
Salt application offers effective alternative to silver nitrate cauterization without risk of chemical burns.

Written by the GCMD Library team from the infographic.

Three-panel infographic with red header and white background. Left panel shows study metadata with icons for location, methodology, and timeframe. Center panel illustrates treatment method with icons of salt shaker and granuloma. Right panel displays outcome metrics with checkmark, warning triangle, and circular arrow icons in teal color scheme.

New infographic by Dr. Jose Campos and the Chilean society of pediatric surgery

"Treatment of Umbilical Granuloma in Infants With Topical Application of Common Salt: A Scoping Review"

Authors: Arka Banerjee, Gayatri Munghate, Minnie Bodhanwala, Pradnya S. Bendre

Full article: https://www.jpedsurg.org/article/S0022-3468(23)00193-8/fulltext

Abstract

Background

Common salt is a safe, effective and cheap home-made remedy for umbilical granuloma. The aim of this scoping review is to identify and summarize the available evidence and examine the research conducted on salt treatment for umbilical granuloma.

Methods

A literature search was performed in the second week of September, 2022 using Google scholar, PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE databases using the keywords ‘umbilical granuloma’ and ‘salt treatment’ to identify all English articles pertaining to salt treatment for umbilical granuloma. Tables were made to summarize the methodological characteristics, results and the dosage regimens of salt used by different authors. The Cochrane Collaboration's tool was used for assessing risk of bias in RCTs. The indexing statuses of the journals publishing these studies were also noted. The overall efficacy with the use of common salt was calculated by adding the success rates mentioned in each study.

Results

Twenty-four articles (2 systematic reviews, 6 Randomized Controlled Trials, 11 prospective cohort studies, 1 case control study, 3 retrospective case series and 1 case report) were included. An overall 93.91% success rate (1033/1100) was seen with common salt application, without any reports of complications/recurrences.

Conclusion

Topical application of common salt for umbilical granulomas is simple, effective and inexpensive. This scoping review provides a broader outlook at the existing level of evidence and may help in planning interventional comparative studies, so that recommendations can be formulated. It also highlights a lack of properly designed randomized controlled trials on this topic.

Level of Evidence

The text in the image

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