Purpose

The proposed study seeks to investigate the effect of intranasal capsaicin treatment in patient with Non-allergic irritant rhinitis (NAIR), as well as evaluate optical rhinometry (ORM) as a means to quantify symptomatic improvement in NAIR patients during and after treatment.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 18 Years and 70 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  • Non-allergic irritant rhinitis (NAIR) patients as defined by history (symptoms of nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, nasal itching or sneezing upon exposure to nasal irritants) - Patients with positive optical rhinometer (ORM) response with intranasal challenge with 0.5 millimolar (mM) capsaicin as described by Lambert et al 2012 - Confirmed negative skin prick test to common allergens (which rules out allergic rhinitis)

Exclusion Criteria

  • History of sinonasal surgery - Chronic rhinosinusitis - Inflammatory or granulomatous diseases - Asthma - Allergic rhinitis - Immunocompromised state - Radiation to the head and neck - Intranasal steroid use >4 wks - Intranasal or systemic antihistamine x 3 days - Intranasal or systemic decongestants x 3 days

Study Design

Phase
Phase 2
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
intranasal capsaicin
The capsaicin solution will be prepared by using the formula previously reported by Van Rijswijk et al; (0.1mmol/l) diluted in ethanol and 0.9% normal saline (19). Using the mucosal atomizer device (MAD), 0.8 milliliters (mL) will be delivered to each nasal cavity for a total of 24.4 ug per nasal cavity. 5 consecutive applications of capsaicin or placebo will be administered intranasally, with 1 hour between each application.
  • Drug: Capsaicin
    Other names:
    • intranasal capsaicin
Placebo Comparator
Vehicle solution
100 μL of 1% ethanol in 0.9% saline solution. 5 consecutive applications of capsaicin or placebo will be administered intranasally, with 1 hour between each application.
  • Drug: Placebo
    Other names:
    • 1% ethanol in 9% saline

More Details

Status
Completed
Sponsor
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Study Contact

Detailed Description

A study by Lambert et. al. (2012) was able to objectively identify patients with NAIR by intranasal capsaicin challenge followed by assessment with optical rhinometry. Studies have shown that capsaicin therapy can improve symptoms of patients historically identified with NAIR via visual analog scale (VAS) rating of symptoms and symptom surveys; however, there has been no study evaluating the capsaicin therapy on patients objectively identified as NAIR patients. Multiple studies have demonstrated that intranasal capsaicin can improve nasal symptoms of NAIR patients. Regarding the usage of capsaicin, there is a product on the market: Sinus Buster which has capsaicin as the active ingredient. Numerous research papers have evaluated the efficacy and safety of Sinus Buster for the treatment of congestion in non-allergic rhinitis patients. However, the diagnosis of NAIR in these previous studies was based primarily on history. In addition, the primary outcome in these studies was symptomatic without any objective evaluation. The goal of this study will be two-fold: with patients objectively identified as NAIR patients via the optical rhinometer, we will re-evaluate the therapeutic action of intranasal capsaicin on the management of rhinitic symptoms. We expect that the patients will show significant improvement in their symptoms. We will then use optical rhinometry as a means to objectively monitor changes in symptoms in NAIR patients. We expect that post treatment, patients will no longer have the positive response previously seen on intranasal capsaicin challenge before receiving treatment. We hope to be able to establish optical rhinometry as an objective measurement of symptom improvement for NAIR symptoms, along with the subjective patient surveys.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.