Effects of corticosteroids on hyposmia in persistent allergic rhinitis

Abstract

Objective. To asses the effects of two topical nasal corticosteroids sprays on
hyposmia in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis.
Material and Methods. The study was a prospective clinical trial and it included
twenty four patients with persistent allergic rhinitis (PER) and hyposmia (H). The
patients were divided into two groups depending on the type of corticosteroid topical
nasal spray treatment: group A, 200 micrograms dose of mometasone furoate (MF)
and group B, 110 micrograms dose of fluticasone furoate (FF) both administered in
the morning for 4 weeks. The olfactory function of the patients was evaluated with the
extended Test battery „Sniffin’ Sticks”. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used for
the assessment of hyposmia, nasal discharge. The level of the nasal obstruction, before
and after the treatment, was evaluated through the anterior rhinomanometry.
Results. The comparisons between the two types of topical corticosteroids
showed a significant improvement separately between scores of the odor threshold
(OT), odor discrimination (OD) and odor identification (OI) and also on the final
olfactory score (SDI) before and after 4 weeks of the treatment. The comparisons of the
VAS scores pre and post treatment showed a significant improvement in hyposmia and
nasal obstruction. The nasal airflow and the nasal discharge scores were improved,
but the differences were not statistically significant between the groups. The final
statistical analysis found no significant differences between the two patients groups.
Conclusion. The study concludes that fluticasone furoate and mometasone
furoate have quite the same effects on hyposmia and on the classical symptoms from
PER.