Levocetirizine has been shown in observational studies in the west as an effective and satisfactory
therapy for patients with allergic respiratory and
skin disease. An open-label, multicentre observational study was conducted to investigate the patients' perception of
levocetirizine in the treatment of
allergic rhinitis (AR) and
urticaria in Taiwanese patients. Three hundred and thirty-three patients (236 AR and 97
urticaria patients) attending out-patient clinics of medical centres across Taiwan were included in the study. Patients were treated with
levocetirizine 5 mg once daily (AR patients for 2-4 weeks and
urticaria patients for 2-6 weeks) and at the end of treatment, they evaluated for symptoms of disease, perception of change in symptoms, global efficacy and tolerability, global preference over previous
antiallergic treatment, change in quality of sleep/daily activities, and safety and adverse events (AEs).
Levocetirizine markedly improved the symptoms of AR and
urticaria; with 70-75% of AR patients and 60-80% of
urticaria patients reporting complete or marked improvements in individual symptoms.
Asthma symptoms were completely or markedly improved in 44% of patients with AR and concomitant
asthma. A majority of the patients was satisfied with
levocetirizine therapy and 50-70% indicated preference for
levocetirizine over previous
therapy. Overall, 50-74% of all patients perceived improvements in quality of sleep/daily activities and 50-65% of the patients rated the onset of action for
levocetirizine as very rapid or rapid.
Somnolence was the most common AE, reported by 7.4% of AR and 7.0% of
urticaria patients. The results of this study indicated that
levocetirizine is an effective and satisfactory
therapy for the management of allergic respiratory and
skin disease in Taiwanese subjects.