[A MULTICENTER STUDY ON CHILDHOOD ALLERGIC RHINITIS TREATMENT IN THE TOHOKU REGION]

We performed a multicenter study in order to clarify the present conditions of the childhood allergic rhinitis treatment in many departments of otorhinolaryngology and pediatrics/internal medicine in the Tohoku region, northern Japan.

We performed a questionnaire survey about patient backgrounds, nasal symptoms, QOL disturbance, and treatment agents, for childhood allergic rhinitis patients under age 12.

The total number of cases was 814, the mean age of the patients seen in pediatrics/internal medicine departments was significantly lower than that in otorhinolaryngology. The merger rate of bronchial asthma of the patients seen in pediatrics/internal medicine was significantly higher, and nasal symptoms and QOL disturbance of the patients seen in otorhinolaryngology were significantly more severe. For therapeutic agents, antihistamines were most prescribed, and the combination of LT receptor antagonist and intranasal steroids was used for the cases in which nasal symptoms were severe. The nasal symptoms in the combination group were significantly improved compared with the antihistamine monotherapy group.

It was indicated that the combination therapy was useful in the severe cases of childhood allergic rhinitis.