A Comparative Study of Loratadine Syrup and Cyproheptadine HCL Solution for Treating Perennial Allergic Rhinitis in Taiwanese Children Aged 2–12 Years

Abstract

We assessed the efficacy of loratadine syrup compared with cyproheptadine HCl solution for treating children aged from 2 to 12 years with perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) in Taiwan. Sixty children with mite-induced PAR were enrolled and randomly placed into two treatment groups: loratadine syrup or cyproheptadine HCl solution. Treatment efficacy and symptom changes from baseline to post-treatment were evaluated by total symptom scores and visual analogue scales (VAS) during a 2-week period. There were no differences in age, gender, height, or weight between the two groups. After 2 weeks of treatment, there was a significantly greater reduction in symptom scores in the loratadine group than in the cyproheptadine group (p<0.001). Clinical and subjective VAS showed significant differences in percentage changes from baseline between the loratadine and cyproheptadine groups at all time points (all p<0.001, in favor of loratadine). Clinical VAS change at week 1: 95.1 vs 11.3; subjective VAS change at week 1: 88.6 vs 13.6; clinical VAS change at week 2: 125.5 vs 18.3; subjective VAS change at week 2: 101.4 vs 7.1. Thus, loratadine was superior to cyproheptadine for alleviating both nasal and non-nasal symptoms of perennial allergic rhinitis in Taiwanese children aged 2-12 years.