A treatment for allergic rhinitis:a view on the role of levocetirizine

Abstract

These findings support both the short-term and long-term use of levocetirizine in the clinical management of allergic rhinitis. The World Health Organization (WHO) ARIA Guidelines (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma), recommend using a combination of a non-sedating antihistamine with a decongestant, or glucocorticosteroids for treating allergic rhinitis - with the order and combination of treatment depending on severity and duration of symptoms.

Efficacy and safety of bilastine 20 mg compared with cetirizine 10 mg and placebo for the symptomatic treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis: a randomized, double‐blind, parallel‐group study

“…It has been estimated that AR occurs in over 500 million people worldwide [1], with studies from the United States indicating around 20-40 million people, including up to 40% children, suffering from AR annually [4]. Despite the large body of evidence, which indicates AR to adversely impact the patients' quality of life (QoL) (including fatigue, headache, diminished cognition, sleep disruption and other systemic symptoms) [3,[5][6][7] and to possibly lead to development of comorbid conditions such as acute/ chronic sinusitis, otitis media, sleep apnoea, respiratory infections and aggravation of or predisposal to asthma, when not treated adequately [8][9][10][11], AR still remains undermanaged and poorly controlled [4,12].…”

Rupatadine and Levocetirizine for Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis

“…12,13 Levocetirizine-the R-enantiomer of cetirizine dihydrochloride with pharmacodynamically and pharmacokinetically favorable characteristics-has been proved to be safe and effective for the treatment of AR with a minimal number of adverse effects in many clinical trials. [14][15][16][17][18][19] The primary goal of treating patients with seasonal AR is to give symptomatic relief. At present, the market is flooded with "me-too" drugs, and physicians are inundated with promotional literature from pharmaceutical companies.…”

A case of levocetirizine-induced liver injury

“…LCZ—the R-enantiomer of cetirizine dihydrochloride, which has favorable pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic characteristics—has been demonstrated to be safe and effective for the treatment of allergic diseases, as evidenced by the low number of adverse effects in clinical trials [ 10 , 11 ]. A similar number of patients reported treatment-emergent adverse events with LCZ and placebo.…”