March 1, 2005 Erwin W. Gelfand, MD
article
Abstract
Allergic rhinitis is the most prevalent chronic allergic disease in children. Although it is not life-threatening, it can have a significantly detrimental effect on a child's quality of life, and it may exacerbate a number of common comorbidities, including asthma and sinusitis. The Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma guidelines, an evidence-based algo-rithm for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, advocate the use of antihistamines for the treatment of the broad spectrum of the disease. However, first-generation antihistamines are associated with a number of adverse events, including central nervous system impairment and anticholinergic and cardiovascular effects. Moreover, these agents have not been rigorously tested in the pediatric population. Nevertheless, first-generation antihistamines remain the most frequently prescribed agents in this class of drugs. This is despite the fact that the second-generation antihistamines are largely free of the undesirable side effects associated with their predecessors and the fact that they have been shown to be effective in relieving allergic rhinitis symptoms in children in a number of large-scale clinical trials. Therefore, when selecting an antihistamine for a child, it would be prudent to consider the full range of antihistamines and to base the selection of a particular drug on its efficacy, onset and duration of action, and safety profile.
September 30, 2004 Albert Jen, MD; Ashutosh Kacker, MD; Clark Huang, MD; Vijay Anand, MD
article
Abstract
The authors describe a prospective pilot study designed to investigate the use of topical nasal antifungal spray in addition to systemic steroids and itraconazole in the treatment of allergic fungal sinusitis. Sixteen patients with a history of allergic fungal sinusitis were given fluconazole nasal spray and followed for 3 months. Stabilization or improvement of disease without significant side effects was observed in 12 of the 16 patients who were treated with this protocol. These results indicate that topical fluconazole application may help patients with allergic fungal sinusitis; however, a larger multicenter study with longer patient follow-up is required to validate these initial findings.
June 30, 2004 Liron Pantanowitz, MD; Karoly Balogh, MD
