The effect of beclomethasone dipropionate treatment on the nasal provocation test.

A total of 50 patients with hay fever of perennial rhinitis were treated for 14 days with beclomethasone dipropionate nasal spray. Dosage was one puff (50 micrograms) in each nostril four times a day to a total daily dose of 400 micrograms. Rhinomanometry was used to determine the efficacy of beclomethasone dipropionate in immediate type allergic responses provoked by a nasal challenge with either grass pollen or house dust/house mite allergen. Treatment with beclomethasone dipropionate nasal spray resulted in a significant increase in tolerance to both house dust/house mite allergen (P = 0.01) and grass pollen allergen (P = 0.005). Passive anterior rhinomanometry would seem to offer an easy suitable technique for measuring nasal resistance during nasal provocation tests.