Oral phenylephrine: An ineffective replacement for pseudoephedrine?

Percent change in nasal airway resistance in 20 patients with chronic nasal stuffiness after single doses of placebo and 3 oral decongestants administered in a randomized, double-blind, crossover manner on different days. Changes were significant at each time point after pseudoephrine and phenylpropanolamine but not after phenylephrine. Drawn from data presented by Bickerman.⁵ This graph was previously published¹¹ and is reproduced with permission of Pharmacotherapy.