Comparison of leukotriene receptor antagonists and anti-histamines as an add-on therapy in patients with asthma complicated by allergic rhinitis.

Patients with asthma are often complicated by allergic rhinitis, and the intimate pathophysiological association between allergic rhinitis and asthma often imposes a significant morbidity on affected individuals. The present study was conducted to assess the clinical efficacies of leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) and anti-histamines on asthma as an add-on therapy in patients with asthma complicated by allergic rhinitis. Consecutive patients with asthma were recruited to fill in systematic self-administered questionnaires concerning symptoms and conditions related to asthma and allergic rhinitis. The questionnaire was conducted twice, one month apart, and the attending physicians gave detailed information on disease control and medications on both occasions. In the study 3,140 patients with asthma participated, and 634 had concomitant allergic rhinitis (mean age: 53.1, 389 female). The second survey disclosed that treatment with LTRAs or anti-histamines had been added in 26 patients and 19 patients, respectively, without any changes in other medications. There were no significant differences in age, gender, severity of disease, or baseline treatments. The initial survey indicated that the patients who were treated with LTRAs had significantly more severe asthma-related symptoms (i.e. wheeze, cough and sleep disturbance) and experienced greater dissatisfaction with the treatment than did those who were treated with anti-histamines. The second survey disclosed significant reductions in sneezing (p=0.03), rhinorrhea (p=0.01), dyspnea (p=0.046), sleep disturbance (p=0.02), over-all asthma symptoms (p=0.013), and an improvement in satisfaction with treatment (p=0.019) in patients to whom LTRAs were added-on, whereas the patients receiving anti-histamines reported no significant changes in these symptoms. These results suggest that LTRAs are more effective than anti-histamines as an add-on therapy in symptomatic patients with asthma complicated by allergic rhinitis.