Efficacy of levocetirizine compared with montelukast in subjects with ragweed-induced seasonal allergic rhinitis in the Environmental Exposure Unit
Abstract
Levocetirizine dihydrochloride, a potent H1-receptor antagonist, and montelukast sodium, a selective leukotriene receptor antagonist, have been approved for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR), but target two different pathways that cause SAR symptoms. The study objective was to compare the efficacy of levocetirizine (LCTZ), 5 mg, and montelukast (MLKT), 10 mg, in reducing SAR symptoms in ragweed-sensitive adults exposed to ragweed pollen in the Environmental Exposure Unit (EEU). This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of 418 adult subjects with SAR to ragweed compared the efficacy of LCTZ, MLKT, and placebo administered once daily (11:00 A.M.) for 2 consecutive days in the EEU. There were three evaluation periods: period I, 0-5 hours after first dose; period II, 22.5-24 hours after first dose; and period III, 0-4.5 hours after second dose. The primary efficacy variable was the Major Symptom Complex (MSC) score (six symptoms) over period I. Both active drugs significantly improved the MSC score compared with placebo in all periods. The adjusted mean MSC score difference between LCTZ and MLKT was -0.93 (p = 0.100) in period I, -3.11 (p < 0.001) in period II, -2.42 (p < 0.001) in period III, and -1.88 (p < 0.001) over the total treatment period. The same trends were observed for the Total Symptom Complex score (10 symptoms) and most individual symptoms. Subject-reported global satisfaction was greater for LCTZ compared with MLKT…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 418 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Cross-Sectional Study Among Medical Students on Application, Education, and Ethical Aspects
- Information quality of videos related to esophageal cancer on tiktok, kwai, and bilibili: a cross-sectional study
- The quality and reliability of short videos about hypertension on TikTok: a cross-sectional study
- Quality and reliability evaluation of pancreatic cancer-related video content on social short video platforms: a cross-sectional study
- Quality and reliability of pediatric pneumonia related short videos on mainstream platforms: cross-sectional study
- Association between metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR) and hypertension: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES 2007–2018
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.