The Efficacy and Safety of Desloratadine versus Loratadine in the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis

BACKGROUND: Desloratadine, an active metabolite of loratadine, is a new antihistamine agent. According to animal studies, desloratadine and loratadine have the same pharmacological properties and mechanisms. The aim of the current study was to compare the efficacy and safety between desloratadine and loratadine in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. METHODS: This study was designed as a double-blind, randomized, 14-day treatment, which was actively controlled to compare the efficacy and safety of desloratadine with loratadine in subjects with allergic rhinitis. RESULTS: After a 14-day treatment period, all subjects in the two groups showed improvement in the total nasal and non-nasal symptom scores after the first week of treatment and the efficacy was maintained until the end of second week of treatment. However, no statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups. Regarding safety, the most common adverse event was headache. After 14-day treatment period, the vital signs, physical examinations, laboratory tests for renal and hepatic functions and ECG did not show significant changes from baseline in all subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that desloratadine had comparable efficacy with loratadine, and was well tolerated without cardiotoxic effects in treating patients with allergic rhinitis.