Sanofi, a global integrated health care leader, has joined forces with Saudi Otorhinolaryngology Society (SOS) for the first Saudi allergy management symposium (SAMS).

The symposium includes education sessions for health care professionals from around the Kingdom, educating and updating them on the management of allergic rhinitis in Saudi Arabia, especially in day-to-day practice.

Dr. Carlos E. Baena, former president, World Allergy Organization, and professor, postgraduate department of the faculty of medicine, Catholic University Cordoba, Argentina, said: “The prevalence of rhinitis is remarkable in many parts of the world; it is expected that 10 to 20 percent of adolescents suffer from allergic rhinitis. Unfortunately, the condition is under diagnosed and under treated. Allergic rhinitis seems to be easy to treat and, in fact, it is. At present, very efficacious and safe medications are available to treat allergic rhinitis in the patients who have been diagnosed correctly. However, a big group of patients suffers from moderate to severe, difficult-to-treat allergic rhinitis; most of them have to be managed by specialists.”

Dr. Mohammed Zahran, consultant rhinologist and skull base surgeon at King Fahd General Hospital and general secretary of SOS, said: “Allergic rhinitis can often be a debilitating condition which, if untreated, can result in considerable health-related and economic consequences. Numerous studies have demonstrated that poorly controlled symptoms of allergic rhinitis contribute to decreased health-related quality of life, reduced sleep quality, daytime fatigue, impaired learning, impaired cognitive functioning, and decreased long-term productivity.”

As part of Sanofi’s commitment toward all its stakeholders, Dr. Salah Mousa, GM, Sanofi Saudi Arabia, said: “We are doing our level best to facilitate and support how physicians can improve and guide their patients’ to achieve better quality of life as one of the top priorities for Sanofi.”