PATIENT PREFERENCE AND SENSORY COMPARISONS OF NASAL SPRAY ALLERGY MEDICATIONS

In a double-blind crossover study, 94 symptomatic adult patients with allergic rhinitis rated sensory preferences for single exposures (2 sprays in each nostril) to three intranasal corticosteroids: triamcinolone acetonide AQ, beclomethasone dipropionate AQ, and fluticasone propionate. Each patient was given the medication and then immediately asked to use a 100-point scale to rate 13 attributes: comfort to take the medicine, medicine run-off, irritation, strength of urge to sneeze, strength of odor, liking odor, strength of taste, strength of bitter taste, liking taste, and moistness of nose and throat, and then (at least 2 min after administration) irritation, medicine run-off, and overall liking. The order of drug presentation was randomized across patients and a 30-min rest interval occurred between drug administrations. Triamcinolone was lower in odor strength than both beclomethasone and fluticasone (mean scores of 8 vs 57 and 52, respectively; P<0.001) and the odor of triamcinolone was preferred to the odor of the two other sprays (mean score of 72 vs 55 and 55, respectively; P<0.001). While the taste intensity ratings of the three sprays were not significantly different, the triamcinolone taste was liked more than that of fluticasone (mean scores of 55 vs 41, P<0.04). Overall, triamcinolone was liked more than fluticasone (P<0.05). In summary, patient preference testing has shown that triamcinolone is preferred over beclomethasone and/or fluticasone in terms of odor and taste. Such preferences may be important in treatment compliance and outcomes.