Écoute et compréhension des patients atteints de rhinite allergique en France : observatoire OPERA

Abstract

To analyze how French patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and their physicians perceive this disease, the OPERA Observatory carried out a study based on the response to a “physician questionnaire” and a self-administered “patient questionnaire”. The study included a sample of 372 randomly selected General Practitioners (GPs) and 1817 patients, with a median age 41 years, 53.2% women, and the mean duration of the AR 7.9 ± 8.1 years. The aim of the study was to identify the patients’ expectations and their level of satisfaction with the therapeutic care they received. According to the ARIA classification, 62.6% had persistent AR and 37.4% had intermittent AR. Moderate to severe AR was diagnosed in 85.7% of the patients. The most troublesome symptoms in order of frequency were rhinorrhea (94.8%), nasal obstruction (93.4%) and sneezing (92.9%). The most frequently prescribed treatments were oral H1 antihistamines (87.7%), followed by intranasal corticosteroids (56.7%) and to a lesser extent the nasal H1 anti-histamines (20.8%) and decongestants (20.2%). Oral H1anti-histamines and corticosteroids were more frequently prescribed in patients with moderate to severe AR, respectively, 88.6% and 14.2% compared to 82.2% and 5.8% in patients suffering from mild AR (P = 0.004 for the antihistamines and P < 0.001 for the corticosteroids). The majority of patients reported being satisfied with their treatment, with rapid relief of symptoms (66.3%) and good tolerance to the drugs (84.2%). The physician/patient relationship was considered satisfactory, although some patients said they would like more information on the management of their symptoms, their treatments and the potential side effects. This survey showed that the AR associated with persistent moderate to severe symptoms was the most commonly AR observed in general practice.