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Nasal spray with mometasone furoate improved itchy ear, palate

Mometasone furoate nasal spray effectively treated ear and palate itching in participants with seasonal allergic rhinitis, according to study results.

The 15-day study pooled data from four phase 3, randomized trials. Participants aged 12 years to 71 received 200 mcg/day mometasone furoate nasal spray (n=480) or placebo (n=482) for symptoms of itchy ear and itchy palate in allergic rhinitis (AR).

In each trial, the participants recorded their symptoms in a diary twice daily, in the morning and at bedtime. Participants noted their symptoms on a scale of 0 to 4, with 0 being “none” and 4 being “severe.”

The investigators used a minimum criterion of ≥1 on a baseline score of itchy ear and itchy palate symptoms to better assess the effects of mometasone furoate. Of the original cohort, 68% of participants receiving mometasone furoate and 68% of those receiving placebo had baseline scores of ≥1.

The participants who received mometasone furoate spray had “significantly superior” relief of itchy ear and palate symptoms compared with those who received placebo. Itchy ear and palate symptoms were reduced by 38.5% from baseline in the mometasone furoate group compared with 23.4% in the placebo group (P≤.01 for each of the 15 days).

“These findings provide the first evidence that mometasone furoate nasal spray is effective in treating nonrhinoconjunctival symptoms of AR,” researchers said.

Disclosure: See the study for a full list of relevant disclosures.