Bombay Hospital Journal, Vol. 52, No. 1, 2010 41 nasal passage, nasal and pharyngeal itching, lacrimation, all occurring in a temporal relationship to allergen exposure. Although commonly seasonal due to elicitation by airborne pollens, it can be perennial in an environment of chronic exposure. Significant congestion may interfere with sleep, can lead *HOD, **Late/Ex Lecturer, Department of ENT; ***Department of Pharmacology, Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar (E), Mumbai - 400 077. A Randomized Comparative Study of “New Nasivion Care Drops” in Patients with Nasal Congestion Due to Acute Exacerbation of Allergic Rhinitis Pragnya K Parikh*, Atul S Tekade**, Deepak Langade*** Abstract Objective : To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a fixed dose combination of oxymetazoline 0.5 mg in buffered aqueous solution with menthol, eucalyptol and xylitol (OM) versus fixed dose combination containing oxymetazoline 0.05% plus dexpanthenol 5% (OD), fixed dose combination containing xylometazoline 0.1% plus sorbitol 2% (XS), and xylometazoline 0.1% drops (XL) in patients with nasal congestion due to acute exacerbation of allergic rhinitis. Methods : In this prospective, four-arm, open-label, randomized, comparative study conducted at single site with 160 patients (40 in each treatment arm), patients of either sex between 18 and 60 years of age with acute allergic rhinitis presenting with signs and symptoms of nasal congestion who gave informed written consent were enrolled. Patients with known hypersensitivity to nasal decongestants, having hypertension, history of myocardial infarction, angina or stroke, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, and those taking any nasal or systemic decongestant up to 2 days prior and patients on topical nasal steroids 2 weeks prior were also excluded. The study period for each patient was of 5 days and assessments were made for congestion, nasal irritation, nasal discharge and nasal blockade evaluated on a 4-point rating scale. Time to complete clinical recovery and global assessment was done for response and tolerability at end of therapy on a scale of Excellent, Good, Satisfactory and Poor. Results : Mean symptom scores for nasal congestion with OM (oxymetazoline + Menthol) were significantly (p < 0.006) lower than all the other groups from as early as day 3. Also, the mean symptom scores for nasal irritation, nasal discharge, and nasal blockade are significantly lower with OM as compared to all other groups on day 5 (p < 0.05). For global efficacy evaluation, therapy with OM was reported as ‘Excellent’ in 78.57% patients which was far better as compared to all the other treatment arms (p < 0.0001). For global tolerability evaluation, OM was reported as ‘Excellent’ (61.90%) which was far better as compared to all other treatment groups (p < 0.0001). Conclusions : Nasal drops containing oxymetazoline, menthol, eucalyptol and xylitol are having better efficacy and tolerability profile compared to xylometazoline containing nasal drops for the treatment of symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Introduction A llergic rhinitis is characterized by sneezing, rhinorrhoea, blockade of the