Levocetirizine in persistent allergic rhinitis: continuous or on-demand use? A pilot study

ABSTRACT

Background: Allergic rhinitis is a high-prevalence disease that affects quality of life (QOL), sleep quality and productivity of patients. According to the ARIA initiative, it is classified as intermittent and persistent, the latter being the most troublesome.

Methods: The aim of this randomized, open-label, 6-month, pilot study was to determine whether levocetirizine 5 mg administered continuously once daily in the morning was better than levocetirizine 5 mg on-demand in symptomatic subjects with persistent allergic rhinitis. Total and individual symptom scores were recorded in a diary card throughout the study. QOL, quality of sleep, nasal cytology, rate of drug intake, and safety were also assessed at pre-defined time-points.

Results: In all, adult patients (31 in each group) were enrolled, of whom 22 dropped out. Both treatment regimens considerably decreased the total and individual symptoms scores from baseline and achieved similar levels up to week 14. Continuous treatment was generally better than on-demand from week 15 onwards, reaching statistical significance from weeks 17 to 21 (from week 19 to 21 for nasal pruritus). Both regimens substantially improved QOL and sleep quality. Both treatments were well tolerated, although the on-demand group reported more adverse events.

Conclusion: The present open label study in 62 patients indicates that levocetirizine 5 mg reliably controls persistent rhinitis over a period of 6 months, and shows a trend to be more effective in controlling the symptoms of rhinitis, improving QOL and decreasing nasal inflammation, when administered as long-term continuous therapy rather than as on-demand therapy.

Key words: :

• Antihistamine
• Continuous
• Levocetirizine
• On-demand
• Persistent allergic rhinitis

Acknowledgements

Declaration of interest: UCB Pharma S.A. (Belgium) sponsored this study. The authors also thank Associazione per la Ricerca per le Malattie Immunologiche e Allergiche-Genoa (ARMIA) for partial support of the study.

GWC and GP are consultants for Abbott, AstraZeneca, ALK-Abellò, Almirall, sanofi-aventis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi Pharmaceuticals, GSK, Lofarma, Menarini, Novartis Pharma, Pfizer, Schering Plough, Stallergenes, and UCB. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest with respect to the contents of this article.

This article was developed in collaboration with GA2LEN – Global Allergy and Asthma European Network.