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

Abstract BACKGROUND AND AIM: Perennial allergic rhinitis impairs social life, but it is not known whether quality of life may be improved when patients are treated with an H 1 -blocker. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was carried out with cetirizine to assess the effect of this drug on quality of life. METHODS: Two hundred seventy-four patients with perennial allergic rhinitis were tested. Quality of life was measured by using the Medical Outcome Study Short-Form Health Survey (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 run-in period (at the start of treatment) and after 1 and 6 weeks of treatment. Symptom-medication scores were measured daily during the study. RESULTS: After the run-in period (baseline), there were no significant differences between the cetirizine and placebo groups in terms of symptoms or quality-of-life scores. After 6 weeks of treatment, percentage of days without rhinitis or with only mild rhinitis symptoms was significantly greater in the cetirizine group in comparison with the placebo group ( p p = 0.01 to p CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to demonstrate that an H 1 -blocker, cetirizine, can improve quality of life for patients with perennial allergic rhinitis. (J ALLERGY CLIN IMMUNOL 1996;98:309-16.)