Abstract
The number of patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis is increasing yearly, therefore prophylactic therapy is recommended. A survey carried out to measure the satisfaction of the patients with their prophylactic treatment revealed a high percentage of patients who were satisfied with the treatment. On the other hand, many patients indicated dissatisfaction with the treatment efficacy, which can vary based on the severity of the cedar pollen dispersal in each season, and the cost. In addition, there are no established criteria for determining the proper drug dose of olopatadine hydrochloride for prophylaxis. Therefore, we evaluated the clinical prophylactic efficacy of half-dose olopatadine hydrochloride.
The subjects were divided into 3 groups: 1) patients who took prophylactic treatment with half the usual dose of olopatadine hydrochloride before the beginning of the pollen season, 2) patients who took the usual dose of olopatadine hydrochloride before the beginning of the pollen season, and 3) patients who received intra-season administration of olopatadine hydrochloride without prophylactic treatment. We used symptom diaries and the Japan rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire (JRQLQ) to determine the subjective symptom, objective nasal finding and QOL scores.
The nasal and eye symptom scores of all groups were low in the pollen season, possibly due to the mild cedar pollen season. Midway through the pollen season, only the severity of nasal discharge showed significant improvement in the usual-dose prophylaxis group as compared with that in the intra-season treatment group. Also, the total scores on the JRQLQ showed improvement from early in the pollen season only in the half-dose group as compared with that in the intra-season treatment group. There were no significant differences in the nasal symptom, eye symptom or QOL scores during the pollen season between the half-dose and normal-dose groups.
These findings suggest that half-dose olopatadine hydrochloride is useful for prophylaxis against Japanese cedar pollinosis.
