Physicians perception in the management of allergic rhinitis: a Pan-India survey

Abstract

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background: </strong>Allergic rhinitis (AR) affects a wide proportion of the population across all age groups. There are several guidelines and consensus statements in AR management, the effect of this is implicit from a physician's perspective. The present cross-sectional survey was conducted to understand physicians approach to the management algorithm in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and medication choice.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> Physicians from diverse specialties such as pulmonologists, consultant physician, paediatricians, Allergists, ENT specialists and general practitioners were invited to participate in the survey, which focused on recognizing the burden of disease, clinical presentation, and management methods.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> 1,261 Physicians participated in this survey, belonging to different specialties. Oral H1 antihistamine was favoured as a first-line therapy, followed by the combination of oral H1 histamine and leukotriene receptor antagonist. Fexofenadine was the most frequently prescribed. Majority believed, bilastine as antihistamine with the least sedative potential and was identified as the most effective treatment. Bilastine was preferred in patients with mild- moderate hepatic/renal impairment and in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis. Most physicians prefer bilastine in all AR clinical profiles. Aside from AR, bilastine is also use in management of upper respiratory tract infections and urticaria respectively.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>AR is still a growing challenge in India with majority of physician preferring oral antihistamine either as monotherapy or in combination. Bilastine is a preferred choice in patients with impaired liver and renal function and was also referred as least sedative antihistamine by majority of physicians across India. </p>