Astemizole--a new, non-sedating antihistamine for hayfever

Astemizole, a new histamine H1 receptor blocker, was compared with placebo in an eight week, double-blind trial in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. Sixty-five patients of either sex were randomized to either astemizole (32 patients: 10 mg t.i.d. on day 1, 10 mg b.i.d. on day 2, 10 mg o.d. for the remainder of the study) or placebo (33 patients). Patients were seen bi-weekly and maintained a daily diary record of symptoms throughout the study. Significantly more patients in the placebo group (12) compared to the astemizole group (2) dropped out of the study due to treatment failure (p less than 0.05). Astemizole significantly reduced the frequency and severity of allergic symptoms. In subjective evaluations of each treatment by both the investigator and the patients, astemizole was judged good to excellent by 68% compared to 30% for placebo (p less than 0.05). One patient in each group experienced drowsiness. The only significant side effect of astemizole was weight gain (20 patients compared to 1 in the placebo group), although only one patient discontinued astemizole for this reason.