Evaluation of Treatment Satisfaction in Children with Allergic Disease Treated with an Antihistamine An International, Non-Interventional, Retrospective Study Marta Ferrer, 1 Ma ´rio Morais-Almeida, 2 Margarita Guizova 3 and Roman Khanferyan 4 1 Department of Allergy, Clinica Universidad de Navarra Medical School, Pamplona, Spain 2 Immuno-Allergy Department, CUF-Descobertas Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal 3 Paediatric Department, University Hospital ‘St Anna’, Sofia, Bulgaria 4 Department of Clinical Immunology, Allergology and Laboratory Diagnostics, Kuban State Medical University, Krasnodar, Russia Abstract Background and Objectives: Histamine H 1 -receptor antagonists (antihistamines) have been shown to be efficacious and safe in children and are recommended as first-line treatment for the symptoms of allergic rhinitis and urticaria. No published study to date has directly compared satisfaction with the different antihistamines in children in a real-life clinical setting. This study aimed to investigate parent and physician satisfaction with the efficacy and tolerability of oral antihistamine treatment in children and to compare satisfaction between levocetirizine and the other antihistamines used by children in this cohort. Methods: This was an international Observational Survey in Children with Aller- gic Rhinitis (OSCAR). Children aged 2–12 years, with a history of an allergic condition leading to a consultation, were enrolled from 424 primary-care/ specialist allergy clinics across Bulgaria, India, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Korea and Spain. At the consultation, parents and physicians of eligible children completed questionnaires evaluating their satisfaction with specific antihistamines currently employed for management of the child’s allergic condition, as well as their intention for future use of that treatment. Parents’ satisfaction scores for efficacy, tolerability and global satisfaction with the antihistamine used were primary study outcomes, while physicians’ satisfac- tion scores for the same measures were secondary outcomes. Other secondary outcomes were parents’ rating of the impact of the antihistamine treatment on their child’s sleep and school performance, and parents’ and physicians’ willingness to use/recommend the same antihistamine in the future. Results: A total of 4581 patients were enrolled; 3048 (66.5%) had allergic rhinitis (55.9% persistent allergic rhinitis and 44.1% intermittent allergic rhinitis), and 663 (14.5%) had urticaria as primary conditions. Additionally, 2465 patients (53.8%) suffered from other allergic diseases, including allergic ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Clin Drug Investig 2010; 30 (1): 15-34 1173-2563/10/0001-0015/$49.95/0 ª 2010 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved.