Single dose of omalizumab before pollen season beneficial in seasonal allergic rhinitis: Study

To date, no study has evaluated the efficacy of preseasonal omalizumab therapy with a cost-effective dose and at an appropriate time point compared with standard medication in seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) patients.

This was a prospective randomized controlled open-label single-centre trial. 32 SAR patients were randomized to receive a single injection of omalizumab 300-mg approximately two weeks before the start of the pollen period (PP) or medication therapy. All patients completed daily questionnaires; recording symptoms, medication use and quality of life (QoL) throughout the observation period. The primary efficacy parameter was the mean daily Combined Symptom and Medication Score (CSMS).

Results:

Preseasonal omalizumab significantly reduced the changes of mean daily CSMS of nose during the PP (p < 0.001), peak pollen period (PPP) and PP after PPP (PPP-PP) (p = 0.002) and Post-PP (p = 0.009) compared to standard medication. The proportion of allergy symptoms-relieving medication-free days during PPP-PP was also significantly higher in preseasonal omalizumab-treated group (76.2(16.7-98.8))% than in medication-treated group (19.0(0-71.4))% (p = 0.030). Omalizumab could achieve the same nasal symptom control during the entire pollen season and better eye symptoms relieving results in PP (p = 0.046) and PPP-PP (p = 0.004) than medication treatment. Significantly greater improvement in QoL was also obtained with omalizumab-pretreatment during the PP (p = 0.037) and PPP-PP (p = 0.004).

Thus, Administration of a single injection of 300 mg omalizumab two weeks before the start of the pollen season achieves better overall control of symptoms and QoL, with significantly reduced allergy symptoms-relieving medication usage, compared with standard pharmacotherapy in SAR patients.

Reference:

Omalizumab is effective in the preseasonal treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis by Yuan Zhang et al. published in the Clinical and Translational Allergy.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35024137/