Introduction
Rhinitis is a common respiratory disorder that can be broadly defined as an
inflammation of nasal mucosa.
Allergic rhinitis is the most common form of chronic
rhinitis characterized by one or more symptoms including
sneezing, nasal
itching, nasal congestion, postnasal drip, and
rhinorrhea. Montelukast is an antagonist to the
leukotriene receptor. It is non-sedating, dosed once daily, and has a safety profile similar in adults and children, with approval down to six months of age. The purpose of the study was to see the improvement in the severity of symptoms of the patients with
allergic rhinitis treated with
montelukast. Methods The symptom severity score for
allergic rhinitis was calculated by asking the patient to evaluate the severity of individual symptoms (
sneezing, nasal congestion,
rhinorrhea, and postnasal drip) against the 4-point scoring scale over the last 24 hours. After explaining the scoring system to the patient, a proforma was filled before starting the treatment. A dose of 10 mg of
montelukast once daily was prescribed. On the follow-up visit after four weeks of
therapy, compliance was ensured and then the symptom severity score was recorded again on the proforma. The total nasal symptom severity score (TNSSS) was calculated as a sum of all four nasal symptoms. Pre- and post-treatment mean of TNSSS was compared using a t-test. P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results A total of 140 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 30 years. The minimum age was 15 years and the maximum age was 45 years. There were 93 males and 47 females. The difference between pre- and post-mean values of TNSSS was 5.82. Both pre- and post-mean of TNSSS were compared using the t-test, and P-value was significant, i.e., <0.005. Conclusions The common symptoms of
allergic rhinitis evaluated in the study showed improvement in response to the treatment with
montelukast. The improvement in symptom severity score was maximum in
sneezing and least in
rhinorrhea. In light of recent developments on neuropsychiatric adverse effects and FDA warnings, caution needs to be exercised to reserve the use of
montelukast for the selected patients.