Efficacy and safety of modern second-generation antihistamines

Abstract

Allergic diseases are a huge problem for the practitioner today. Since 2nd generation antihistamines are the drugs of choice in the treatment of chronic urticaria and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, the practitioner needs to be aware of the pharmacological properties, mechanisms of action, adverse effects and interactions with other drugs. The purpose of the review. This article provides an update on the clinical pharmacology, mechanisms of action, and safety of second- generation antihistamines. We identified potentially relevant studies by searching the electronic databases MEDLINE, SCOPUS, PubMed, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews over the last 5 years up to November 2022 using the terms: antihistamines, allergy, allergic rhinitis, urticaria, therapy, safety, efficacy, adverse effects, sedative antihistamines, second generation antihistamines, clinical trials. Further, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, as well as independent selection, all the authors of this article selected sources that met the criteria and compiled this review. Results. Recent studies have shown the efficacy and good tolerability of second-generation antihistamines, confirming their use as first-line drugs for the treatment of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and urticaria.