[Quality assurance in allergology--the patient at the center].

The content and amount of the allergologic diagnostic measures differs more and more in comparison to the causal treatment and consulting of the patient during care. The tasks of quality assurance may include the development of criteria for evaluated diagnostic measures and the resulting treatment concepts with respect to an interdisciplinary approach. The cooperation with patient groups should be integrated in such a concept.

[Allergic diseases in the indoor environment].

Allergic diseases have severely increased worldwide through the last 30 years. More than 50% of all allergic diseases are caused by allergens out of the indoor environment. The most important allergen-carriers are cats, mites and molds.

Comparative efficacy of azelastine nasal spray and terfenadine in seasonal and perennial rhinitis.

The efficacy and tolerability of intranasal azelastine (0.14 mg/nostril twice daily) and oral terfenadine (60 mg twice daily) were compared under double-blind conditions in two 6-week, multicenter, parallel-group studies, including 167 patients suffering from seasonal and 52 patients suffering from perennial allergic rhinitis. In both studies, patients were symptomatic on entry and showed significant improvement on both treatments within the first 8 d of therapy, showing little further improvement with continued treatment.

Levocabastine nasal spray better than sodium cromoglycate and placebo in the topical treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis.

The efficacy and safety of the nasal administration (twice in each nostril, four times a day) of levocabastine (0.5 mg/ml) were compared with those of sodium cromoglycate (20 mg/ml) and placebo in a 2-week, parallel, double-blind trial in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. At the end of treatment, 89% of patients in the levocabastine-treated group rated their treatment as globally good or excellent as compared with 32% (p = 0.

[Cefixime therapy in sinusitis].

In a clinical study, 40 patients suffering from acute, recurrent or chronic sinusitis were treated with cefixime. The duration of therapy ranged from seven to 15 days. The dosage was 200 mg bid.