Comparative study of terfenadine in allergic skin of patients in France.

The results of a double-blind comparative study of a new antihistamine, alpha-[4-(1,1-dimethylethyl)phenyl]-4-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-1- piperidinebutanol (terfenadine, RMI 9918, Triludan, Teldane, resp.), are presented. Carried out on a total of 136 patients, this multicentre investigation had three main objectives: Firstly to evaluate the efficacy of terfenadine in skin allergies; secondly to evaluate its tolerance; and finally, to compare its activity with the activity of clemastine or with placebo. The results obtained with terfenadine are comparable to those obtained with the reference product clemastine and show that terfenadine is similar in efficacy to that expected when antihistamine drugs are used for the treatment of general allergic manifestations of skin. With respect to patient tolerance, the results are in agreement with those of previous studies which have demonstrated that terfenadine is well tolerated and that its sedative effect is negligible.