Daily Nasal Symptom Severity Score (DNSSS)
DNSSS was calculated as the mean symptom score across all 4 nasal symptom severity components daily (sneezing, itchy, runny and stuffy nose), each scored by patients according to a 4-point scale (0, none; 1, mild; 2, moderate; 3, severe). Eight studies with a total of 2,136 randomized patients provided enough data to allow for a quantitative evidence synthesis based on the DNSSS. Overall, omalizumab statistically significantly reduced the DNSSS by a summary standardized mean difference of -0.41 points (95% CI, -0.61, -0.22; p<0.001; I2 = 93.2%) (Figure 2).
A subgroup analysis by the specific AR indication showed that omalizumab in the 3 cedar pollen-induced AR trials statistically significantly reduced the DNSSS by a summary standardized mean difference of -0.97 points (95% CI, -1.43, -0.51; p<0.001; I2 = 80.3%), while in the remaining five non-cedar trials, DNSSS was also statistically significantly reduced, by a summary standardized mean difference of -0.19 points (95% CI, -0.25, -0.13; p<0.001; I2 = 1.6%) (Supplementary Figure 1).