Treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis: a comparison of a combination tablet of terfenadine and pseudoephedrine with the individual ingredients

This single-centre, double-blind, parallel randomised study of one week's duration compared terfenadine 40 mg, pseudoephedrine 60 mg and a combination of the two (40 mg/60 mg) given three times a day in the management of hayfever. Of 88 known hayfever sufferers recruited during the 1988 season 86 were evaluable for efficacy. Demographic data were similar, but some significant differences in baseline symptom values made direct comparison of post-treatment scores difficult to interpret. Nevertheless, comparisons of improvements from baseline show that all three treatments provide good control of the individual seven symptoms (nasal block, sneezing, runny nose, itchy nose, watery eyes, red eyes, itchy eyes). Terfenadine provided a statistically greater improvement in mean total symptom score than pseudoephedrine alone. Overall assessments favoured terfenadine and the combination, and rhinoscopy examination showed a trend in favour of terfenadine alone. Adverse events were recorded more frequently in the combination group: 45% of patients versus 21% in the terfenadine group and 26% in the pseudoephedrine group. In this group of patients, terfenadine, pseudoephedrine or a combination provide good relief of hayfever symptoms, including nasal block, with terfenadine and the combination being preferred to pseudoephedrine in the treatment of this condition. However, the combination can be expected to cause a greater incidence of side-effects.