Controlled study of oxatomide vs disodium chromoglycate for treating adverse reactions to food.

A controlled, cross-over trial was carried out to compare the efficacy and safety of oxatomide vs disodium chromoglycate (DSCG) for treating food allergy and intolerance. Twenty patients (15F, 5M; mean age 36.6 years), with chronic urticaria (twelve patients) or eczema (eight patients) caused by food allergy (ten cases) or food intolerance (ten cases), were treated with oxatomide (60 mg/day in a single evening administration) and with DSCG (2000 mg/day) for six weeks. The two treatments were separated by a 3-week wash-out period. All the patients completed the trial. During the treatment, both drugs succeeded in controlling the symptoms. With oxatomide, the wheals totally disappeared from 75% of the patients (p = 0.00135), the eczematous lesions disappeared from 64% (p = 0.056), and the itching from 70% (p = 0.00012); the figures for DSCG were 33%, 50% (p = 0.038) and 50%, respectively. Both drugs were well tolerated and there was no need to discontinue the treatment of any of the patients.