Driving ability after acute and sub-chronic administration of levocetirizine and diphenhydramine: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Abstract

In contrast to diphenhydramine, driving performance was not significantly affected while using 5 mg levocetirizine once daily.

Antihistamines and driving ability: evidence from on-the-road driving studies during normal traffic

“…Impairment was most pronounced after one-time administration; but after 4 to 5 days of administration, significant impairment had been shown for triprolidine, 8,10 clemastine, 15 and diphenhydramine. 13 However, the effects on driving performance after 4 to 5 days of administration are much less pronounced than after immediate administration, and some studies failed to find significant impairment after repeated administration of first-generation antihistamines such as triprolidine, 9,11 terfenadine, 7,10,12 and dexchlorpheniramine. 17 Nevertheless, after 4 to 5 days of treatment some subjects were unable to complete their driving tests, illustrating that sedative effects are not absent after repeated administration.…”

“…Most studies on antihistamines and driving were not conducted in a mixed-sex population. With the exception of the levocetirizine study, 13,33 including 24 men and 24 women (they reported no sex differences for levocetirizine and diphenhydramine), the number of included subjects in studies with mixed-sex populations is too low to provide hard evidence on possible sex differences with sufficient statistical power. Nevertheless, results from these studies suggest that there are no significant sex differences for clemastine, 14,15 mizolastine, 14 and fexofenadine.…”

“…Driving ability after both immediate (day 1) and subchronic (day 4) administration of levocetirizine (5 mg) matched that of placebo; mean differences in SDLP relative to placebo were only 0.3 cm on day 1 and 0.5 cm on day 4. 13 All driving tests were completed, and individual SDLP differences were small. Results from a laboratory test battery evaluating memory functioning, cognition, and psychomotor performance were in line with the driving test results.…”

“…In a recent study, 13 diphenhydramine (50 mg) was administered to 48 healthy men and women over 4 days. Diphenhydramine produces significant driving impairment 1.5 hours after one-time administration.…”

“…[23][24][25][26] Direct evidence on driving ability comes from 2 on-the-road studies. 12,13 Eighteen healthy women participated in a study 12 examining the effects of diphenhydramine (50 mg) in the standardized on-the-road driving test and a car-following test, performed 1.5 and 3.25 hours after one-time administration. Performance on both tests was significantly impaired at both testing times (⌬SDLP Ͼ5 cm, comparable with that observed with a BAC of 0.10%).…”