IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY-OF-LIFE BY TREATMENT WITH CETIRIZINE IN PATIENTS WITH PERENNIAL ALLERGIC RHINITIS AS DETERMINED BY A FRENCH VERSION OF THE SF-36 QUESTIONNAIRE

Background and aim: Perennial allergic rhinitis impairs social life, b ut it is not known whether quality of life may be improved when patien ts are treated with an H-1-blocker. A randomized, double-blind, placeb o-controlled study was carried out with cetirizine to assess the effec t of this drug on quality of life. Methods: Two hundred seventy-four p atients with perennial allergic rhinitis were tested. Quality of life was measure by using the Medical Outcome Study Short-Form Health Surve y (SF-36) questionnaire. After a 2-week run-in period, cetirizine, 10 mg once daily, (136 patients) or placebo (138 patients) was given for the next 6 weeks. The SF-36 questionnaire was administered after the r un-in period (at the start of treatment) and after 1 and 6 weeks of tr eatment. Symptom-medication scores were measure daily during the study . Results: After the run-in period (baseline), there were no significa nt differences between the cetirizine and placebo groups in terms of s ymptoms or quality-of-life scores. After 6 weeks of treatment, percent age of days without rhinitis or with only mild rhinitis symptoms was s ignificantly greater in the cetirizine group in comparison with the pl acebo group (p < 0.001, Mann-Whitney U test). All of the nine quality- of-life dimensions were significantly improved (from p = 0.01 to p < 0 .0001, Mann-Whitney U test) after 1 and 6 weeks of cetirizine treatmen t compared with placebo. There was no improvement in the placebo group . Conclusions: This study is the first to demonstrate that an H-1-bloc ker, cetirizine, can improve quality of life for patients with perenni al allergic rhinitis.