Economic outcomes for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.

The purpose of this article is to review the literature related to economic outcomes associated with treating allergic rhinitis. A literature review was conducted using 'Medline' and the in-house database of the publishers of this journal for articles published between January 1991 and January 1996. Only 3 cost-outcome analyses that compared alternative treatments for allergic rhinitis were found. Given the limited number of full economic evaluations, much of this article focuses on issues related to direct and indirect costs and outcome measures that should be considered when performing an economic evaluation of allergic rhinitis. We conclude that more comprehensive analyses using a wide array of costs and outcomes are needed. At present, it is not possible to draw general conclusions regarding the economic value of alternative treatments for allergic rhinitis.