Martin K Church, Marysia Tiongco-Recto, Erminia Ridolo & Zoltán Novàk.
(2019) Current Medical Research and Opinion, DOI: 10.1080/03007995.2019.1681134
Bilastine is a potent and highly selective H1-antihistamine for the treatment of urticaria and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.
This is a review article that gathers information available up to 25 February 2019 on the use of the H1-antihistamine bilastine in the treatment of allergic disorders in different age groups, from children to adults.
Teenagers and adults bilastine dose is usually 20 mg daily and children up to 12 years old is 10 mg of bilastine once daily. Bilastine has demonstrated efficacy at improving allergic rhinitis symptoms, such as nasal and ocular symptoms and at improving wheals and itching in urticaria. It has a rapid onset of action and a long duration of action.
Bilastine does not interact with the CYP450 system, making it a H1-antihistamine free from drug-drug interactions. Patients with renal or hepatic impairment or elderly ones don’t need dosage adjustment. Bilastine is well tolerated, even at above standard doses and doesn’t exhibit anticholinergic or cardiotoxic effects. It has minimal sedative properties due to its inexistence central nervous system penetration. Patients on bilastine show an overall improvement of health-related quality of life.
In conclusion, bilastine is a suitable option of H1-antihistamins for the treatment of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis or urticaria in all patients.
