Changes in nasal reactivity in patients with rhinitis medicamentosa after treatment with fluticasone propionate and placebo nasal spray.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To study the changes in nasal reactivity in patients with rhinitis medicamentosa during treatment with placebo or fluticasone propionate, in order to better understand the mechanisms of nasal congestion in such patients.

STUDY DESIGN: A parallel, double-blind study. Twenty patients with rhinitis medicamentosa were randomized to either placebo or fluticasone treatment during 14 days.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Nasal mucosa reactivity was studied with a histamine challenge model using three concentrations of histamine to challenge the nasal mucosa (1, 2 and 4 mg histamine/ml). Recordings of the nasal mucosa response were made 5 min after each challenge, using rhinostereometry and acoustic rhinometry, before and after the period of treatment.

RESULTS: The fluticasone group had a significantly increased histamine sensitivity after treatment, unlike the placebo group who had an unchanged or slightly decreased histamine sensitivity after treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the theory that the nasal obstruction in rhinitis medicamentosa is due to interstitial oedema rather than to vasodilatation. On the first day of vasoconstrictor withdrawal, the inferior concha was congested and oedematous with a limited capacity to respond to histamine challenge. However, after 14 days of treatment with a corticosteroid nasal spray, the oedema was reduced and the increase in histamine sensitivity reflected the persistence of nasal hyperrreactivity. In the placebo group, histamine sensitivity remains unchanged with the measuring technique we used. This probably indicates that oedema was still present after treatment.