BMJ 2002;324:1277 ( 25 May )

Letters

Treating seasonal allergic rhinitis

    Well designed experiments should have been used
    Trial does not show that there is no difference between butterbur and cetirizine
    Author's reply

Well designed experiments should have been used

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---The publication of a paper by Schapowal and the Petasites Group, purporting to show that butterbur is as good as antihistamines for hay fever and is without their alleged disadvantages, has done the disease and those suffering from it a disservice.1 The primary concern of the paper was not the effect of these treatments on the severity of hay fever. To establish this, the essential data are the severity of sneezing, rhinorrhoea, itchy nose and eyes, and nasal congestion before and after treatment. These were given only as diagnostic entrance criteria, and severity of disease became just a secondary outcome measure, derived not from measurement of change in disease state, but from a final, global, clinicians' assessment.

The primary outcome measure was not an objective assessment of the disease state but a mishmash of various attributes of mental, physical, and social activity---all secondary consequences of the disease. . . . [Full text of this article]
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Randomised controlled trial of butterbur and cetirizine for treating seasonal allergic rhinitis
Andreas Schapowal
BMJ 2002 324: 144. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ