Treating nasal symptoms associated with rhinitis using the intranasal herbal ointment Biyeom-go: A prospective observational study.

Objectives: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness and clinical feasibility of Biyeom-go for the treatment of nasal symptoms associated with rhinitis.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: This study was conducted at the Woosuk Korean Medicine Medical Center in South Korea.

Participants: Fifty-eight patients with rhinitis participated in this study. All patients received Biyeom-go treatment >3 times daily for a total of 4 weeks.

Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was the total nasal symptom score. Mini-rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire, nasal endoscopy index, total serum immunoglobulin E levels and immunologic factors in nasal lavage fluid were also measured.

Results: Biyeom-go administration was associated with significant improvements in total nasal symptoms scores (P < .0001) and mini-rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire scores (P < .0001) in a time-dependent manner. The nasal endoscopy index also significantly improved at weeks 2 (P = .0049), 3 (P < .0001) and 4 (P = .0001) after Biyeom-go treatment. Significantly, increased interleukin-2 levels (P = .005) and decreased interleukin-8, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand (CCL) 5, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand (CXCL) 9, CCL2 and CXCL10 levels were observed in the nasal lavage fluid.

Conclusions: The present findings suggest that Biyeom-go may be beneficial for the management of rhinitis symptoms and rhinitis-associated quality of life. Further well-designed randomised controlled trials are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of Biyeom-go for rhinitis.