The costs of nonsedating antihistamine therapy for allergic rhinitis in managed care: an updated analysis.

OBJECTIVE

To update a prior study evaluating the use and costs of new-generation antihistamines for the treatment of allergic rhinitis in a managed care population.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective database review of rhinitis-related medical and pharmacy-related claims during a treatment period of 12 months.

METHODS

Patients who had been diagnosed as having allergic rhinitis and had at least 1 prescription claim were identified from a database containing patient-level medical and pharmaceutical claims. The treatment patterns for patients meeting study criteria were documented for a 12-month period to describe how nonsedating antihistamines are being used in allergic rhinitis, and to assess the associated costs of various medications. Subanalyses of patients categorized by comorbidity status were also performed.

RESULTS

A total of 105,696 patients were included in this updated analysis, covering calendar year 1999. Nonsedating antihistamines were used by 68% of the sample, with loratadine and fexofenadine being the most commonly prescribed agents. The mean annual rhinitis-specific charge for fexofenadine-treated patients was $409 (standard deviation [SD] 727), which was significantly lower compared with charges for loratadine-treated patients, $424 (SD 740), P = .0144, or cetirizine-treated patients, $444 (SD 625), P < .0001. This trend was also observed in comparisons of patient subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

Consistent with our prior study, loratadine and cetirizine were generally associated with significantly higher treatment charges than fexofenadine. This result was observed across different stratifications of patients, including those with comorbid respiratory illness, concomitant use of nasal steroids, and asthma and/or sinusitis. These results provide further useful insights into the differential costs associated with the use of nonsedating antihistamines for allergic rhinitis treatment.