Efficacy of Oral Bilastine in Comparison to Levocetirizine in Allergic RhinitisA Randomised Clinical Study

Abstract

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis is a heterogeneous disorder characterised by major symptoms like sneezing, itching, nasal congestion and rhinorrhea. Because of bothersome side effects of first-generation antihistaminic drugs, second generation antihistaminic drugs have been used since few years. Recent studies have showed that novel drug Bilastine has been approved as an effective treatment in Allergic rhinitis. Aim: To evaluate Total Nasal Symptom Scores (TNSS), Serum Immunoglobulin E (IgE), Serum Absolute Eosinophil Count (AEC) in patients with allergic rhinitis, pre and post-treatment with Bilastine and Levocetirizine. Materials and Methods: A randomised, open-labelled, study was conducted between January 2020 to March 2020. Hundred patients with allergic rhinitis were enrolled into the study. They were randomised into two groups of which group A received tablet Bilastine 20 mg once daily for two weeks and group B received tablet Levocetirizine 5 mg once daily for two weeks. The results of TNSS, IgE, AEC and pre and post-treatment values were compared in both the treatment groups. Unpaired t-test was used as the test of significance between the two treatment groups. Results: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis in the study was 49% in males and 51% in females. The mean difference in pre and post-treatment in TNSS (group A=1.627, group B=1.143), serum IgE (A=33.118, B=49.653), serum AEC (A=28.00, B=27.245) showed no statistically significant difference between two groups (p-value >0.05). Conclusion: Bilastine and levocetirizine are equally efficacious. Though there is clinical significance in treatment of allergic rhinitis between the groups, there is no statistical significance which would prove Bilastine is clinically superior to Levocetirizine for the allergic rhinitis treatment.

Keywords

• serum absolute eosinophil count
• serum immunoglobulin e
• total nasal symptom score