Superiority of an intranasal corticosteroid compared with an oral antihistamine in the as-needed treatment of XXXX .

@entity1 @entity32 @entity7370 @entity2023 @entity228 @entity112 @entity5023 @entity4255
BACKGROUND: The daily use of either intranasal corticosteroids or @entity112 (1) (H(1)) receptor antagonists has proved to be efficacious in the treatment of @entity2023 . Most @entity1 , however, use these medications as needed. Our objective was to compare the effectiveness of as-needed use of H(1) receptor antagonists with that of intranasal corticosteroids in the treatment of @entity2023 . METHODS: We performed a randomized, open-label, parallel-group study comparing the as-needed use of an H(1) receptor antagonist ( @entity4255 ) with that of an intranasal @entity228 ( @entity5023 ) in the management of fall @entity2023 in the fall of 1999. Subjects kept a diary of their daily symptoms and were examined at enrollment into the study and biweekly for 4 weeks during treatment. Outcome measures were the @entity7370 Quality of Life Questionnaire score, daily symptom diary scores, and the number of eosinophils and the levels of eosinophilic cationic protein in nasal lavage samples. RESULTS: @entity1 in the @entity5023 -treated group reported significantly better scores in the activity, sleep, practical, nasal, and overall domains (P<.05) of the @entity7370 Quality of Life Questionnaire. The median total symptom score in the @entity5023 -treated group was significantly lower than that in the @entity4255 -treated group (4.0 vs 7.0; P<.01). After treatment, the number of eosinophils was significantly smaller in the @entity5023 -treated group compared with the @entity4255 -treated group (P =.001). Eosinophilic cationic protein levels followed the same pattern, with a significant correlation between the levels of eosinophilic cationic protein and the number of eosinophils (r(s) = 0.70, P<.01). CONCLUSION: As-needed intranasal corticosteroids reduce @entity32 and are more effective than as-needed H(1) receptor antagonists in the treatment of @entity2023 .
