Journal of Asthma and Allergy (Sep 2018)
Rupatadine oral solution for 2–5-year-old children with allergic rhinitis: a safety, open-label, prospective study
Abstract
Eva Santamaría,1,2 Iñaki Izquierdo,2 Marta Valle,1,3 Jan Vermeulen,4 Paul Potter5 1Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 2Clinical Development, R&D, J. Uriach y Compañía, S.A., Barcelona, Spain; 3Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Modeling and Simulation, Sant Pau Institute of Biomedical Research (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain; 4Allergic Department, Parow Research, Cape Town, South Africa; 5Allergy Diagnostic and Clinical Research Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town Lung Institute, Cape Town, South Africa Background: There are few clinical trials that assess the efficacy of antihistamines in very young children. Rupatadine is a second-generation antihistamine indicated for the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR) and urticaria. In this study, AR symptoms were evaluated before and after daily 1 mg/mL rupatadine oral solution administration in 2–5-year-old children. Methods: A multicenter open-label study was carried out in 2–5-year-old children with AR. Safety assessments were collected during the study including spontaneous adverse events, vital signs, and electrocardiogram (QTc interval). Additionally, evaluations of Total Five Symptoms Score (T5SS, including: nasal congestion; sneezing; rhinorrhoea; itchy nose, mouth, throat, and/or ears; and itchy, watery, and red eyes) were analyzed. Symptoms were evaluated by parents/legal guardian before and after 4 weeks of rupatadine administration, dosed according to body weight. Results: A total of 44 children received the study treatment. Only 15 adverse events were reported. All of them were of mild intensity and considered not related to the study treatment. No patient exceeded the standard parameter of >450 ms in the last visit, for the QTc interval on their electrocardiograms. From a maximum score value of 15, T5SS values at Day 14 (6.35) and Day 28 (5.42) were both statistically significant different (p<0.001) from the baseline T5SS value (mean 8.65), with a reduction of 26.6% and 37.4%, respectively. All individual symptoms, including nasal congestion, showed also a decrease from baseline at both 14 and 28 days. Conclusion: Rupatadine 1 mg/mL oral solution was found to be safe in 2–5-year-old children, correlating with an improvement of AR symptoms, overall and each individually, after a daily dose administration. With this study, we enlarge the available information in this very young pediatric patients’ group, in which there is a general lack of clinical evidence. Keywords: allergic rhinitis, children, antihistamines, safety, rupatadine
