Comparative Study to Assess Clinical Efficacy of Leukotriene Receptor Antagonist and Antihistamines in the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction
Pharmacologic treatment options for allergic rhinitis include intranasal corticosteroids, oral and topical antihistamines, decongestants, intranasal cromolyn, intranasal anticholinergics and leukotriene receptor antagonists. The present study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of leukotriene receptor antagonist and antihistamines in relieving nasal congestion/ obstruction symptom and itching /irritation in eyes.
Material and Methods
The study was conducted among 125 patients clinically diagnosed suffering from allergic rhinitis Patients were divided into 5 groups and were given oral treatment with oral antihistamines (chlorpheniramine maleate, levocetrizine, fexofenadine, desloratadine) and leukotriene receptor antagonist (montelukast) for a period of 6 weeks. The results were tabulated and analyzed by Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis test with p value <0.05 as significant value.
Result
For relieving nasal obstruction, levocetrizine group showed maximum improvement at 2 weeks. However, at the end of 6 weeks montelukast group showed maximum relief followed by levocetrizine and desloratidine. In relieving eye itching/irritation, montelukast and levocetirizine were equally effective. Fexofenadine and desloratadine were less effective in relieving nasal obstruction and eye itching/irritation followed by chlorpheniramine maleate, which was least effective.
Conclusion
Allergic rhinitis affects the social and professional life of patient. Allergen avoidance should be the initial step in the management of allergic rhinitis. Montelukast and levocetirizine are more effective in relieving nasal obstruction and eye itching/irritation compared to fexofenadine, desloratadine and chlorpheniramine maleate.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
Bousquet J, van Cauwenberge P, Bond C, Bousquet H, Canonica GW, Howarth P et al. Management of Allergic rhinitis Symptoms in the Pharmacy. Allergic rhinitis and its Impact on asthma- A Pocket Guide for Pharmacists. Available at: http://www.whiar.org/docs/ARIA_Pharm_PG.pdf
Van Cauwenberge P, Bachert C, Passalacqua G, Bousquet J, Canonica GW, Durham SR, et al. Consensus statement on the treatment of allergic rhinitis. Allergy 2000; 55:116-34
Sur DK, Scandale S. Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis. Am Fam Physician 2010; 81(12):1440-6
Delgado J, Davila ID, Domínguez-Ortega J, Quirce S, Martí-Guadaño E, Valero A. Quality of life in patients with respiratory allergy is influenced by the causative allergen. Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2013; 23(5):309-14
Jun-Pyo M, Kim H, Lee K, Chang S. Time Trends of Allergic Rhinitis and Effects of Residence on Allergic Rhinitis in Korea From 1998 Through 2007–2009. Asian Nursing Research 2012; 6(3):102-6
Krouse JH. Allergy and chronic rhinosinusitis. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2005; 38:1257-66
Mygind N. Perennial rhinitis. In: Mygind N, editor. Nasal allergy. 1st ed. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications; 1978. pg 52-84
Pawankar R. Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma from the link to Emerging Therapies. Indian J Chest Dis Allied Sci. 2003; 45:179-89
Jones NS. Prevalence of Allergic Rhinosinusitis. Journal Otol Laryngol. 1998; 2:1019-30
George P, Debora WH, Patel P, Steven F, Achilles Alon, Leen G, Carol A, Dass BS, Theodore F. Efficacy of montelukast for treating perennial allergic rhinitis, Allergy Asthma Proc. 2007; 28:296-304.
Singh-Franco D, Ghin HL, Robles GI, Borja-Hart N, Alexandra P. Levocetirizine for the treatment of allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria in adults and children. Clin Ther. 2009; 31(8):1664-87
Ralph M,Volker K, Juliane K. The Effectivness of modern Antihistamines for treatment of allergic Rhinitis- An IPD Meta-Analysis of 140,853 Patients. Allergology International 2013; 62:215-22
Cingi C, Kayabasoglu G, Nacar A. Update on the Medical Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis. Inflammation & Allergy - Drug Targets 2009; 8:96-103.