Treating nasal symptoms associated with rhinitis using the intranasal herbal ointment Biyeom‐go: A prospective observational study

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness and clinical feasibility of Biyeom‐go for the treatment of nasal symptoms associated with rhinitis. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: This study was conducted at the Woosuk Korean Medicine Medical Center in South Korea. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty‐eight patients with rhinitis participated in this study. All patients received Biyeom‐go treatment >3 times daily for a total of 4 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the total nasal symptom score. Mini‐rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire, nasal endoscopy index, total serum immunoglobulin E levels and immunologic factors in nasal lavage fluid were also measured. RESULTS: Biyeom‐go administration was associated with significant improvements in total nasal symptoms scores (P < .0001) and mini‐rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire scores (P < .0001) in a time‐dependent manner. The nasal endoscopy index also significantly improved at weeks 2 (P = .0049), 3 (P < .0001) and 4 (P = .0001) after Biyeom‐go treatment. Significantly, increased interleukin‐2 levels (P = .005) and decreased interleukin‐8, chemokine (C‐C motif) ligand (CCL) 5, chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) ligand (CXCL) 9, CCL2 and CXCL10 levels were observed in the nasal lavage fluid. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that Biyeom‐go may be beneficial for the management of rhinitis symptoms and rhinitis‐associated quality of life. Further well‐designed randomised controlled trials are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of Biyeom‐go for rhinitis.