The Help for Hay Fever community pharmacy-based pilot randomised controlled trial for intermittent allergic rhinitis.

The Help for Hay Fever community pharmacy-based pilot randomised controlled trial for intermittent allergic rhinitis. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2020 Jun 01;30(1):23 Authors: Smith S, Porteous T, Bond C, Francis J, Lee AJ, Lowrie R, Scotland G, Sheikh A, Thomas M, Wyke S, Smith L Abstract Management of intermittent allergic rhinitis (IAR) is suboptimal in the UK. An Australian community pharmacy-based intervention has been shown to help patients better self-manage their IAR. We conducted a pilot cluster RCT in 12 Scottish community pharmacies to assess transferability of the Australian intervention. Trained staff in intervention pharmacies delivered the intervention to eligible customers (n = 60). Non-intervention pharmacy participants (n = 65) received usual care. Outcome measures included effect size of change in the mini-Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (miniRQLQ) between baseline, 1-week and 6-week follow-up. Trial procedures were well received by pharmacy staff, and customer satisfaction with the intervention was high. The standardised effect size for miniRQLQ total score was -0.46 (95% CI, -1.05, 0.13) for all participants and -0.14 (95% CI,-0.86, 0.57) in the complete case analysis, suggesting a small overall treatment effect in the intervention group. A full-scale RCT is warranted to fully evaluate the effectiveness of this service. PMID: 32483186 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Primary Care - Category: Primary Care Authors: Tags: NPJ Prim Care Respir Med Source Type: research