Seasonal allergic rhinitis in adolescents and adults

Seasonal allergic rhinitis is found throughout the world. Epidemiological evidence suggests that there is considerable geographical variation in its prevalence. Symptoms are caused by an IgE mediated type 1 hypersensitivity reaction to air-borne allergens such as pollen or fungal spores, and may also cause eye, respiratory, and systemic problems.

We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of treatments for seasonal allergic rhinitis in adolescents and adults? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to September 2005 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

We found 165 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: astemizole, intranasal azelastine, intranasal corticosteroids, intranasal ipratropium bromide, intranasal levocabastine, oral antihistamines, oral decongestants, oral leukotriene receptor antagonists, pseudoephedrine, systemic corticosteroids, terfenadine.