EFFECTS OF CETIRIZINE VERSUS TERFENADINE IN SEASONAL ALLERGIC RHINITIS

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of ce tirizine, 10 mg, once daily in the morning to terfenadine, 60 mg, BID in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. The multicenter, singl e-blind, parallel study involved 160 patients, who were all included i n the safety and efficacy analysis. The results of the study showed th at both cetirizine, 10 mg, QD and terfenadine, 60 mg, BID used for 1 w eek are safe and effective in the management of allergic rhinitis. By repeated measures analysis, cetirizine improved symptoms more than ter fenadine for the treatment period of days four to seven. Standard Coch ran-Mantel-Haenszel statistics test showed the relative degree of pati ent satisfaction to he higher in the cetirizine group.