Nasal decongestant activity of pseudoephedrine

The effectiveness of orally administered pseudoephedrine in patients with acute or chronic nonsuppurative rhinitis was evaluated under double-blind conditions. Intranasally administered ephedrine which was given to all patients at the end of this study served as the positive control. Marked nasal decongestant effects of a single oral dose of pseudoephedrine (60 mg tablet), as determined by a modified passive anterior, rhinometric technique occurred within 30 minutes and were maintained for at least four hours. The mean nasal decongestant response (delta % of baseline) of 57.2% was associated with a mean peak, plasma pseudoephedrine level of 274 ng/ml. In addition, the maximum response to oral pseudoephedrine treatment was equivalent to the response produced by ephedrine nasal spray. These results suggest that pseudoephedrine is an orally, effective nasal decongestant.