A Comparative Study to Evaluate the Effects of Fluticasone Nasal Spray with Oral Bilastine Versus Mometasone Nasal Spray with Oral Bilastine in Patients of Moderate to Severe Rhinitis

Background: Rhinitis is defined as inflammation of the lining of the nose and is characterized by nasal symptoms including rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasal blockage and itching of the nose. Rhinitis is categorized into three types (a) Allergic rhinitis (b) Non-allergic rhinitis (c) Infectious rhinitis. Rhinitis is a global health problem that causes major illness and disability worldwide. The burden of allergic rhinitis is enormous, estimated to affect about 10-25% of world population. Reported incidence of allergic rhinitis in India also ranges between 20-30%. This study was conducted to compare the safety and efficacy of fluticasone furoate nasal spray with oral bilastine and mometasone furoate nasal spray with oral bilastine in patients of moderate to severe rhinitis.Methods: The randomized controlled study was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology and Otorhinolaryngology, at BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur over a period of 12 months. 156 patients diagnosed with rhinitis in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of BRD Medical College were included in the study and divided into two groups of 78 patients .Each patient in the study were subjected to a detailed history and clinical examination. Subjective scoring for rhinitis symptoms, serum IgE level, and the eosinophilic count was done in all patients.Results: 94 of the 156 patients were women. The age group 26 to 50 made up the majority (57.7%).Majority of patients (60.3%) had allergic rhinitis followed by non-allergic rhinitis (39.7%). Sneezing (97.4%) was the most common symptom among study subjects followed by rhinorrhea (69.2%), nasal congestion (57.7%), and nasal itching (49.4%). In comparison to fluticasone furoate nasal spray, mometasone nasal spray had higher mean TNSS, TOSS and TSS scores in patients with allergic and non-allergic rhinitis after treatment.Conclusion: Fluticasone/Bilastine combination was more effective than Mometasone/Bilastine combination. Also, Fluticasone/bilastine combination was more safe and cost-effective as compared to Mometasone/Bilastine combination.