A comparison of oral astemizole with topical sodium cromoglycate in the treatment of hay fever

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Abstract
An open, parallel group study was carried out in 95 hay fever patients during the 1984 season to compare the efficacy of oral astemizole with that of topical sodium cromoglycate. Patients were allocated at random to receive astemizole once daily (30 mg during the first week, then 10 mg for the rest of the study period) or sodium cromoglycate (2%), administered 6-times daily intranasally and 4-times daily in the eyes, for a maximum of 8 weeks. The severity of patients' nasal and ocular symptoms was assessed daily on two separate 100 mm visual analogue scales throughout the study period. No statistically significant difference could be detected between the two treatment groups in the control of either nasal or ocular symptoms. Side-effects in both groups were minor and transient. It is suggested that astemizole, however, has the advantage of greater patient convenience and cost effectiveness in hay fever sufferers.