Ocular safety of fluticasone furoate nasal spray in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis: a 2-year study.

Background: This is the first study, to our knowledge, to evaluate the ocular effects of an intranasal corticosteroid during 2 years of treatment for perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR).

Objective: To assess ocular safety in adult and adolescent patients 12 years and older with PAR after 2 years of continuous treatment with fluticasone furoate nasal spray (FFNS), 110 μg once daily, and placebo.

Methods: This was a 2-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of once-daily FFNS, 110 ìg, and placebo in 548 patients 12 years and older with PAR. The primary ocular safety end points were time to first occurrence of an event for the Lens Opacities Classification System, Version III (LOCS III), posterior subcapsular opacity (PSO) and time to first occurrence of an event for intraocular pressure (IOP).

Results: On the basis of survival analyses, the difference between the treatment groups for time to first occurrence of a LOCS III PSO and time to first occurrence of an IOP event was not statistically significant (P = .39 and P = .34, respectively). Changes from baseline in visual acuity, LOCS III PSO, cortical opacity, LOCS III nuclear opacity and nuclear color, IOP, and horizontal cup-to-disc similar between treatment groups. There were no ophthalmic-related adverse events of LOCS III PSO or IOP that led to early withdrawal. The most common drug-related adverse event was epistaxis (FFNS, 28%; placebo, 14%).

Conclusion: These data neither support nor negate current recommendations for regular ophthalmic monitoring in patients treated with intranasal corticosteroids.

Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00682643.