This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Nasal filter improved seasonal allergic rhinitis in adults
An investigational nasal filter significantly alleviated nasal itching, sneezing and nasal discharge in adults with seasonal allergic rhinitis, according to recent trial results.
“We will test Rhinix on a larger scale in collaboration with the Danish Patient Organisation Asthma-Allergy Denmark later in the year,” Torben Sigsgaard, MD, PhD, from the department of public health, section for environment, occupation and health, at Aarhus University in Denmark, said in a press release. “But the preliminary tests in our allergy chamber show that the filter can both alleviate typical symptoms, and that you will not experience unacceptable discomfort when using it.”
In a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 13 men and 11 women (mean age, 24.7 years) with a mean specific IgE level of 41.7 kU/L were assigned placebo or active treatment.
Peter Sinkjær Kenney
The mean grass pollen exposure counted at 30-minute intervals was 1,066 grains/m3, and the expansion energy used was kept at a slight positive pressure with a humidity of 35% and an air change cycle rate of 8.5 times hourly, according to data.
The secondary outcome of difference between Rhinix and placebo in change in nasal volume, as measured by acoustic rhinometry, was insignificant at 220 minutes (P=.85) and 390 minutes (P=.78). No difference in maximum total ocular symptom score (TOSS; P=.35) or daily TOSS (P=.59) was observed between treatments.
Researchers examined whether patients stopped breathing through the noses when the filter was inserted and instead breathed through their mouths.
“This would probably aggravate their symptoms in the throat, because the air particles would be increased there instead,” Peter Sinkjær Kenney, MD, and PhD student at Aarhus University, said in the release.
Disclosure: Researcher Peter S. Kenney, MD, is a board member for, is employed by, has a patent with, and has stock/stock options in Rhinix ApS.