French multicentre double-blind study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acrivastine as compared with terfenadine in seasonal allergic rhinitis.

In this double-blind, multicentre study the antihistamine acrivastine was compared with terfenadine for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. The study was divided into three periods which together lasted 56 days. Patients (n = 83) were randomly assigned treatment with either 8 mg acrivastine three times daily or 60 mg terfenadine twice daily. Both agents were equally efficacious in reducing the severity of sneezing, itchy nose, blocked nose, running nose, itchy eyes, watery eyes and itchy throat as recorded daily by patients, and as rated by both the patients and their physicians at the end of each treatment period. Acrivastine and terfenadine were equally well tolerated with no serious side-effects. Both effectively controlled the symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis in otherwise healthy individuals.