Search

The article discusses the double-blind placebo-controlled clinical evaluation of oxatimide, a potent anti-allergic drug in the treatment of hay fever. Oxatimide has several promising pharmacological properties and is a possible breakthrough in the treatment of allergic disorders. The test results were concerned with the effectiveness of the new substance as compared with the placebo and an attempt to evaluate the time course of the clinical amelioration produced by the new drug. Findings seemed to indicate that oxatimide might well be an acquisition in the treatment of seasonal rhinitis.

The efficacy of the new anti-allergic compound oxatimide was tested in a double-blind study against a placebo during the pollen season of 1976 in 215 patients (4 1/2--69 years) with hay fever. Adult patients were instructed to take two tablets (= 20 mg) three times a day for 2 weeks, children received one tablet/10 kg of body weight daily; in addition, they were given a supply of diphenhydramine as a potential supplement. Twelve patients, six from either group, were excluded from the analysis. A significantly higher proportion of patients from the active drug group (n = 104) experienced no or only a few days of complaints, i.e. rhinitis and conjunctivitis, as well as asthma-like complaints, as compared with those of the control group (n = 99). Also, diphenhydramine consumption became significantly lower in the active drug group from the second day onwards, whereas a gradual increase and continuous need were seen in the greater part of the control group. One week of treatment appears sufficient to judge whether the individual patient benefits from the drug or not.

Sequential scintigraphy enables the qualitative and quantitative study of the drainage function of the Eustachian tube. Use is made of serum albumin labeled with technetium 99 m. After reviewing the various methods employed in an exploration of the functions of the Eustachian tube, and in particular the drainage function, the writers explain the method in detail (indicator, detection system, examination procedure, normal scintigraphic aspects) while stressing the control factors (onset of passage, speed and intensity of passage, length of time for the appearance of a trace on the pharynx, eventual aspects of blocking) and giving the basic characteristics; persistant spotting of the drum, transient image of the tube, partial stoppage at the ostium, and traces along the pharynx. The role of swallowing and the position of the head appear to be essential. Results obtained in various disorders of the middle ear, accessory cavities, the tube and the cavum are given in the form of tables. The writers then indicate the principal merits of the method: demonstration of the pathological role of the Eustachian tube in a work-up of transmission deafness, with its impact on treatment, the role of a deficient drainage function in surgical failures, and control of the efficacy of treatment, in particular crenotherapy. A study of the drainage function of the Eustachian tube, as a complement to the function of equalizing pressure, in an essential factor in formulating indications and in establishing the prognosis for tympanoplasties.