Allergic Rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis is a common condition that affects 10-40% of adults in the United States annually. It has a significant impact on patient quality of life and poses a substantial economic burden on society. Knowledge regarding accurate diagnosis, testing and treatment options are important in the management of this prevalent condition. Treatment options include allergen avoidance, pharmacotherapy and allergy immunotherapy. This review contains 7 figures, 6 tables and 28 references. Key words: allergic rhinitis, rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, intranasal corticosteroids, antihistamines, skin prick allergy testing, intradermal allergy testing, subcutaneous immunotherapy, sublingual immunotherapy, anaphylaxis

Perennial allergic rhinitis in children: efficiency and safety of using «Ergocetal»

Purpose — to evaluate the efficacy and safety of levocetirizine («Ergocetal») in children with perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR). Materials and methods. 30 children aged 6–16 years with PAR were examined. All children were prescribed levocetirizine («Ergocetal») 5 mg in the form of tablets once a day for a month for the treatment of PAR. The criteria for the effectiveness of the treatment were: regression of the main nasal and ocular symptoms of PAR (rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, nasal itching, sneezing, itching and redness of the eyes) according to the visual analogue scale (VAS); dynamics of nasal eosinophilia in a smearst from the nasal mucosa. Results. The studies have shown that prescribe of levocetirizine «Ergocetal» in monotherapy for school-age children with mild and intermittent PAR had a positive therapeutic effect on nasal and ocular symptoms, as well as on the intensity of eosinophilic inflammation in the nasal mucosa. Established good tolerance and the absence of side effects of «Ergotal» in the examined children. Conclusions. Therapeutic efficacy, absence of adverse reactions, high adherence to treatment make it possible to recommend levocetirizine («Ergocetal») as monotherapy for mild and intermittent PAR in school children. The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of an participating institution. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies. No conflict of interest was declared by the authors. Key words: allergic rhinitis, treatment, levocetirizine.

Allergic rhinitis control: contemporary approaches to evaluation

Objectives. Allergic rhinitis (AR) is highly prevalent all around the world. It adversely affects the quality of life of patients and leads to the development of bronchial asthma, which determines its high socioeconomic burden. International and Russian authorities establish control of the disease as a primary efficacy end point of allergic rhinitis treatment. Nevertheless, there is no international, standardized, validated tool to assess control of allergic rhinitis. In this regard, this review aims to analyze research on the development of such tools and to provide their comparative analysis. Review methods. Using PubMed, Web of science and Russian Citation Index database, we searched from 1991 to 2019 with logical combinations of the following key words: “allergic rhinitis control”, “AR control”, “AR questionnaire”. A total of 96 publications were included in the study. Results. All studies were arranged in chronological order and their main results were described. Questionnaires on the quality of life, tools offered by the clinical guidelines, visual analogue scales, and specialized questionnaires for measuring the control of allergic rhinitis were considered separately. The advantages and disadvantages of these instruments are described. Conclusion. The evidence based on the quality of the tool to support the use of specialized questionnaires was shown. Many disease control scales have been validated, but have some practical disadvantages asprimary efficacy criteria in clinical practice.

Gambaran fungsi penghidu dengan Sniffin’ sticks pada pasien rinitis alergi

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is defined as an inflammation of the lining mucosa of the nose induced by allergen exposure. The olfactory disturbance could affect around 21%-23% of AR patients.Purpose: To determine the olfactory performance of AR patients at the Allergy-Immunology outpatientclinic, ENT Department, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. To find out the mean difference of olfactorythreshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI) score between intermittent AR group and persistent ARgroup, and also to determine the percentage of the AR patient who had olfactory disturbance. Method:Observational descriptive study with cross sectional method to assess the TDI in AR patients using theSniffin’ sticks extended test. Results: The olfactory performance characteristics of AR patients were:threshold score 0,25; discrimination score 7,00; identification score 10,10; TDI score 23,50. There wasno statistical difference of the TDI mean score between intermittent AR group and persistent AR group.In our study, 45% of all AR subjects were reported to have olfactory disturbance. Conclusion: The TDIresults which represent olfactory function of AR patients were lower compared to the healthy subjects. Key words: allergic rhinitis, olfactory function, Sniffin’ sticks Abstrak : Latar belakang: Rinitis alergi (RA) adalah penyakit inflamasi mukosa hidung akibat pajanan terhadap suatu alergen. Sekitar 21% sampai 23% pasien RA dapat mengalami gangguan penghidu. Tujuan: Mengetahui gambaran fungsi penghidu pada pasien rinitis alergi (RA). Menentukan perbedaan rerata nilai ambang, diskriminasi dan identifikasi (ADI) pada pasien RA intermiten dan persisten, dan mengetahui persentase pasien RA dengan gangguan fungsi penghidu di poliklinik Divisi Alergi-Imunologi, Departemen THT RSCM. Metode: Penelitian observasional dengan metode potong lintang untuk menilai ADI penghidu pada percontoh RA menggunakan pemeriksaan Sniffin’ sticks extended test. Hasil: Didapati karakteristik fungsi penghidu percontoh RA ambang 0,25; diskriminasi 7,00; identifikasi 10,10; nilai ADI 23,50. Tidak didapatkan perbedaan bermakna rerata nilai ADI antara kelompok rinitis alergi persisten dan intermiten. Diperoleh 45% dari seluruh percontoh RA mengalami gangguan fungsi penghidu. Kesimpulan: Nilai ADI yang merupakan fungsi penghidu pasien RA lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan subjek sehat. Kata kunci: rinitis alergi, fungsi penghidu, Sniffin’ sticks