Table 2 Treatment characteristics and scores
From: The international survey on the management of allergic rhinitis by physicians and patients (ISMAR)
Treatment (score) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Rhinitis treatment frequency reported by physicians, median (0 = not used; 5 = most used) | Oral anti-histamines (5) | Intranasal corticosteroids (5) | |
Oral decongestants (2) | Antihistamines + decongestants (2) | ||
Leukotriene antagonists (2) | Topical antihistamines (1) | ||
Intranasal decongestants (1) | Oral corticosteroids (1) | ||
Intramuscular corticosteroids (1) | Antihistamines + steroids ( 1) | ||
Nasal or ocular cromones (0) | Anticholinergic drugs (0) | ||
Allergen s.c. immunotherapy (0) | Allergen s.c. immunotherapy (0) | ||
Other immunotherapy (0) | Alternative medicines (0) | ||
Treatment evaluation by physicians, median (1 = not effective; totally unsafe; 5 = extremely effective; totally safe) | Efficacy | Safety | |
Oral antihistamines | 4 | 5 | |
Intranasal corticosteroids | 5 | 4.5 | |
Oral decongestants | 3 | 3 | |
Antihistamines + decongestants | 3 | 3 | |
Leukotriene antagonists | 3 | 4 | |
Topical antihistamines | 1 | 3 | |
Intranasal decongestants | 3 | 2 | |
Oral corticosteroids | 4 | 2 | |
Intramuscular corticosteroids | 3 | 2 | |
Antihistamines + steroids | 3 | 2 | |
Judgments about compliance, N (%) | Patient (2776) | Physician (234) | |
Excellent | 866 (31.2) | 18 (7.7) | |
Very good | 825 (29.7) | 87 (37.2) | |
Good | 633 (22.8) | 98 (41.9) | |
Intermediate | 297 (10.7) | 25 (10.7) | |
Very poor | 25 (1) | 0 (0.0) | |
Poor | 95 (3.4) | 6 (2.6) | |
Negative | 20 (0.7) | 0 (0.0) | |
Unknown | 15 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | |
Factors affecting treatment compliance N (%) (AEs = adverse events) | AEs produced by medications | 541 (19.5) | 76 (32.5) |
Fear of AEs reported | 503 (18.1) | 107 (45.7) | |
Route of administration | 537 (19.3) | 59 (25.2) | |
Frequency of doses | 935 (33.7) | 91 (38.9) | |
Efficacy of ongoing treatment | 689 (24.8) | 84 (35.9) | |
Cost of medication | 895 (32.2) | 165 (70.5) | |
Taste | 336 (12.1) | - | |
Others | 399 (14.4) | - | |
Patients who received educational information N (%) | Written indication | 1426 (51.4) | |
Oral explanations about disease | 2364 (85.2) | ||
Treatment | 2236 (80.6) | ||
Medication side effects | 1614 (58.1) | ||
Other aspects | 586 (21.1) | ||