Evaluation of effectiveness of allergen subcutaneous immunotherapy in children with asthma / 国际儿科学杂志

Bronchial asthma(asthma)is a common chronic airway inflammatory disease in children, most of which are allergic asthma.Allergen immunotherapy can change the natural course of asthma, and has certain efficacy in controlling asthma symptoms, reducing airway hyperresponsiveness and reducing the use of control drugs.It is the treatment for the cause.The most common allergen immunotherapy treatments are subcutaneous immunotherapy and sublingual immunotherapy.This article reviews the effectiveness of subcutaneous immunotherapy in the treatment of children with asthma, and focuses on the effective evaluation indicators and potential biomarkers that can be used as reference in clinical practice.

Allergic Rhinitis: A Critical Modern Review

Allergic rhinitis addresses a hyperactivity of the resistant framework in any case harmless particles making a fiery reaction where none is required. Allergic Rhinitis is clinically represented by a mixture of two or additional nasal symptoms: running, blocking, itching and sneezing. Allergic rhinitis is regularly partitioned by age, seriousness, and duration of symptoms. Investigation represents how epidemiologic evaluations on the commonness of hypersensitive or allergic rhinitis shift considerably with whether both clinical appraisal and testing were utilized to make the determination. The treatment of allergic rhinitis should combine allergen avoidance, pharmacotherapy and allergen immunotherapy. Treatments of allergic rhinitis include intranasal corticosteroids, oral and topical antihistamines, decongestants, intranasal cromolyn, intranasal anticholinergics. First-generation and Second-generation oral antihistamines and intranasal corticosteroids are the most effective modality for treating allergic rhinitis. Immunotherapy is an efficient immune-modulating treatment that ought to be counseled if pharmacologic medical care for allergic rhinitis isn't effective or not tolerated. This article provides an overview of the prevalence, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and appropriate management of the allergic rhinitis.

Progress on safety of subcutaneous immunotherapy / 国际儿科学杂志

Allergic diseases are a kind of common chronic diseases, whose treatment cycle is long and easy to be repeated, which causes heavy medical and economic burden to the whole world.Allergen immunotherapy(AIT) is the cause-specific therapy for IgE mediated allergic diseases and can change the course of allergic diseases.Although numerous clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of AIT in the treatment of allergic diseases, severe and even fatal adverse reactions still occur, especially in subcutaneous immunotherapy(SCIT). This review mainly focuses on the latest research progress of SCIT safety, and summarizes the research status, risk factors, countermeasures and future research directions of SCIT adverse reactions.

Combined application of anti-IgE therapy and subcutaneous immunotherapy in children with allergic asthma / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective:To analyze the effects of the combined applications of Omalizumab and subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in improving clinical symptoms and immunotherapy tolerance in children with allergic asthma.Methods:A total of 9 children with asthma who received Omalizumab combined with SCIT in the Pediatrics Asthma Clinic of the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University from July 2018 to August 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.The symptoms of asthma, lung function, exhaled nitric oxide(FeNO), life quality scores, inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) dosage, comorbidities improvement, and adverse reactions during SCIT were analyzed and compared before and after the combined treatment.Results:After treatment, both the scores of children asthma control test/asthma control test (C-ACT/ACT) and pediatric asthma quality of life questionnaire (PAQLQ) improved in 9 patients with reduced or maintained doses of ICS.After treatment, comorbidities, including rhinitis and eczema, the scores of visual analogue scale (VAS) for rhinitis, pediatric rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire(PRQLQ) and scoring atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) were all improved.During SCIT, all children didn′t have systemic adverse reactions, and 4 children had 1 (2 cases), 3 (1 case), and 8 (1 case) local adverse reactions, respectively.The number of rapid local adverse reactions accounts for only 2.6% (3/116 times), and the number of delayed local adverse reactions occupies 8.6% (10/116 times). Among them, the number of local adverse reactions accounts for only 2.6 % (3/116 times), and the dia-meters of swelling or induration were more than 4 cm.Conclusions:The combined applications of anti-IgE therapy and SCIT can effectively improve the symptoms and quality of life, and reduce asthma exacerbations and dosage of ICS in children with asthma.It also has certain effects on the improvement of comorbidities.At the same time, the addition of anti-IgE therapy can enhance the tolerance and compliance of SCIT.

Efficacy, safety and compliance of immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis: a Meta-analysis / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective@#By use of Meta analysis to compare efficacy, safety and compliance of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) on allergic rhinitis (AR).@*Methods@#Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Embase, CNKI Database, Wan Fang and Chinese Sci-tech Journal Database (from established time to May of 2018) were searched for trials about the AR treated by SCIT and SLIT. The relevant literatures were screened, and the randomized controlled studies were chosen. Nasal symptom scores, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, adverse reactions and compliance were used as the outcome indicators, and the methodological quality of the literatures was evaluated strictly. The extracted data were analyzed by RevMan 5.3 and Stata 14 software.@*Results@#A total of 20 randomized controlled studies were included, the overall quality of which was relatively high. No publication bias was found. There was no significant difference in nasal symptom scores, VAS scores and compliance between SCIT and SLIT (SMD value was 0.03, 0.14, respectively, RR=1.12; 95%CI value was -0.17-0.23, -0.03-0.31, 0.92-1.35, respectively, all P>0.05); SLIT group resulted in lower overall incidence of adverse reactions than that of SCIT group (RR=1.79, 95%CI: 1.42-2.26, P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#Both SCIT and SLIT have similar eppecacy and compliance for treatment of AR, while adverse reactions are more frequently observed in SCIT.

Progress in sensitized protein components and subcutaneous specific immunotherapy for dust mites / 国际儿科学杂志

Dust mites are one of the most common inhalant allergens in the world.The prevalence of dust mite allergy is on the rise in the worldwide,it is a chronic worldwide health problem that seriously affects the work,study and daily life of patients.This review demonstrates the allergic diseases caused by dust mite,the sensitized protein components of the dust mite and the research progress of allergen-specific immunotherapy,and the application of anti-IgE monoclonal antibodies to IgE-mediated allergic reactions is also briefly described.

Subcutaneous Immunotherapy in Patients with Fagales Pollen-Induced Oral Allergy Syndrome

Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) is the most common food allergy-related condition in adults. This study aimed to investigate whether subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) with Fagales pollen-containing extracts can improve the clinical symptoms of OAS in Korea. In total, 56 OAS patients were included: 19 subjects treated with SCIT, which included Fagales pollen extracts, and 37 not treated with immunotherapy (IT). We reviewed the patients' medical records and administered a telephone questionnaire at one point to assess baseline OAS features and changes in the patients' OAS and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC) symptoms after treatment. Only 12 patients who received SCIT and 15 patients that did not receive SCIT could report on changes in OAS symptoms after treatment because the other patients practiced strict avoidance of their culprit fruits and vegetables, and they could not respond to the status of OAS. SCIT reduced the severity of OAS (p=0.005). Nine of the 12 patients (75%) that received SCIT reported a more than 50% reduction in OAS symptoms. In contrast, only three of the 15 patients (20%) that did not receive IT reported more than a 50% reduction in OAS symptoms. SCIT also reduced the severity of ARC symptoms (p < 0.001). The results indicate that SCIT with Fagales pollen-containing extracts is associated with improved OAS symptoms in Korea.

Influence of different levels of skin pricking test on the short-term efficacy of subcutaneous immunotherapy in allergic rhinitis / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

To explore the effect of different levels of skin pricking test on short-term efficacy of subcutaneous immunotherapy with allergic rhinitis.Thirty-one AR patients were included in our study.All the patients had received subcutaneous immunotherapy for 1 year.According to the levels of SPT the patients were divided into 3 groups(grade 2,10 persons;grade 3,10 persons and grade 4,11 persons).Of all the patients,the nasal symptoms visual analogue scale(VAS)score,medication score and rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire(RQLQ)were investigated both before and after receiving 1 year subcutaneous immunotherapy.The total effective rate of VAS score,RQLQ score and medication score was 61.30%,58.06% and 64.52% respectively,but there was no statistical difference among the 3 groups after 1 year subcutaneous immunotherapy(P=0.573,0.136,0.699,>0.05).This study confirms the short efficacy of subcutaneous immunotherapy in AR patients with different levels of SPT.But the level of SPT was not an objective index for shortterm efficacy of subcutaneous immunotherapy of AR.

The International Study of the Allergic Rhinitis Survey: outcomes from 4 geographical regions

BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a global health problem and is characterised by one or more symptoms, including sneezing, itching, nasal congestion and rhinorrhea. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the features of AR and the physician's approach to the management of AR patients in four geographical regions. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire survey concerning AR was completed by Honorary and Corresponding Members of the Italian Society of Rhinology from different countries among 4 world geographical regions—Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa. RESULTS: The prevalence of AR was reported to be 15%–25%. Children and adolescents, as well as young adults, were the age groups more affected by AR with comorbidities of asthma, sinusitis, conjunctivitis, and nasal polyposis. Nasal symptoms of AR were more intense in the spring (51.92%) and autumn (28.85%). The most common aero-allergens were pollen and mites (67.31%), animal dander and pollutants (23.08%), and fungal allergens (21.15%). Allergen-specific immunotherapy was prescribed for both perennial and seasonal allergens (32.69%) via sublingual swallow (46.15%) and subcutaneous (32.69%) routes. For the AR patients, the most prescribed drugs were intranasal corticosteroids (86.54%) and oral H₁-antihistamines (82.69%). CONCLUSION: A network of experts can improve our knowledge concerning AR epidemiology, and together with guidelines, could assist practitioners and otolaryngologists in standardising the diagnosis and treatment of AR.

Allergen-Specific Immunotherapies for Food Allergy

With rising prevalence of food allergy (FA), allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) for FA has become an active area of research in recent years. In AIT, incrementally increasing doses of inciting allergen are given with the goal to increase tolerance, initially through desensitization, which relies on regular exposure to allergen. With prolonged therapy in some subjects, AIT may induce sustained unresponsiveness, in which tolerance is retained after a period of allergen avoidance. Methods of AIT currently under study in humans include oral, sublingual, epicutaneous, and subcutaneous delivery of modified allergenic protein, as well as via DNA-based vaccines encoding allergen with lysosomal-associated membrane protein I. The balance of safety and efficacy varies by type of AIT, as well as by targeted allergen. Age, degree of sensitization, and other comorbidities may affect this balance within an individual patient. More recently, AIT with modified proteins or combined with immunomodulatory therapies has shown promise in making AIT safer and/or more effective. Though methods of AIT are neither currently advised by experts (oral immunotherapy [OIT]) nor widely available, AIT is likely to become a part of recommended management of FA in the coming years. Here, we review and compare methods of AIT currently under study in humans to prepare the practitioner for an exciting new phase in the care of food allergic patients in which improved tolerance to inciting foods will be a real possibility.

Comparison of efficacy of subcutaneous immunotherapy and sublingual immunotherapy for treating allergic rhinitis / 重庆医学

Objective To compare the curative efficacy and safety of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) versus sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) for allergic rhinitis.Methods A total of 127 cases of patients with allergic rhinitis in the outpatient department of our hospital from June 2009 to March 2016 were retrospectively analyzed,including 79 cases treated with SCIT and 48 cases treated with SLIT.The curative effects and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.Results After 3-year treatment,the total effective rate in the SCIT group was 75.9%,which was higher than 72.9% in the SLIT group,but the difference was not statistically significant (χ2=0.15,P>0.05).The incidence rate of adverse reactions in the SCIT group was 26.6%,which was higher than 10.4% in the SLIT group,the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ2=4.79,P<0.05).Conclusion The two desensitization treatment methods all gain better effect,but SLIT has lower occurrence rate of adverse reactions.

Single-allergen Sublingual Immunotherapy versus Multi-allergen Subcutaneous Immunotherapy for Children with Allergic Rhinitis / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

It has always been controversial whether a single allergen performs better than multiple allergens in polysensitized patients during the allergen-specific immunotherapy.This study aimed to examine the clinical efficacy of single-allergen sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) versus multi-allergen subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and to discover the change of the biomarker IL-4 after 1-year immunotherapy in polysensitized children aged 6-13 years with allergic rhinitis (AR) induced by house dust mites (HDMs).The AR polysensitized children (n=78) were randomly divided into two groups:SLIT group and SCIT group.Patients in the SLIT group sublingually received a single HDM extract and those in the SCIT group were subcutaneously given multiple-allergen extracts (HDM in combination with other clinically relevant allergen extracts).Before and 1 year after the allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT),the total nasal symptom scores (TNSS),total medication scores (TMS) and IL-4 levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were compared respectively between the two groups.The results showed that the TNSS were greatly improved,and the TMS and IL-4 levels were significantly decreased after 1-year ASIT in both groups (SLIT group:P＜0.001;SCIT group:P＜0.001).There were no significant differences in any outcome measures between the two groups (for TNSS:P＞0.05;for TMS:P＞0.05;for IL-4 levels:P＞0.05).It was concluded that the clinical efficacy of single-allergen SLIT is comparable with that of multi-allergen SCIT in 6-13-year-old children with HDM-induced AR.

Systemic Reactions to Dust Mite Subcutaneous Immunotherapy: A 3-Year Follow-up Study

PURPOSE: The incidence of allergen specific immunotherapy-related systemic reactions (SRs) varies among different studies, and many factors are likely to contribute to SRs. This study aims to investigate the incidence, characteristics, and risk factors of SRs to standardize dust mite-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in Central China. METHODS: All patients receiving standardized dust mites (100-100,000 SQ-U/mL; Alutard SQ, Hørsholn, Denmark) immunotherapy were followed up. Recorded data included demographics, diagnosis, patient status, pulmonary function testing results before and after each injection, allergen dosage, and details of SRs. RESULTS: From June 2011 to August 2014, a total of 208 patients received 4,369 injections; 27 (13.0%) patients experienced 48 (1.1%) systemic reactions. Most of the SRs were grade 2 reactions (n=30, 62.5%), followed by grade 1 (n=11, 22.9%), grade 3 (n=7, 14.6%), and no fatal reactions occurred. Forty-six SRs (95.8%) occurred within 30 minutes. Higher SR rates were associated with high concentration extracts (100,000 SQ-U/mL), injections with concomitant local reactions (LRs), children, asthma and high sensitivity (skin prick test 3+/4+ and/or sIgE≥17.5 kUA/L) (P<0.05). The estimated odds of SRs increased in children (OR=6.57; 95% CI: 1.88-22.97, P=0.003), asthmatic patients (OR=4.10; 95% CI: 1.72-9.80, P=0.002), and injections with LRs (OR=2.41; 95% CI: 1.33-4.36, P=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of SRs to dust mite SCIT was low, and multiple factors were associated with the increased incidence of SRs. Children, asthmatics and patients with concomitant LR may be prone to develop SRs.

Sublingual immunotherapeutics

Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has been developed to prevent the severe adverse effects and anaphylaxis associated with subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in the early 1980s in European countries. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) expanded the indications for SLIT to include children in its 2001 guidelines. Many studies have proved that SLIT has therapeutic effects and successful immunologic tolerance in allergic patients, especially those with allergic rhinitis/conjunctivitis and asthma. SLIT is associated with a much lower frequency of anaphylaxis and generalized adverse effects and is easier to use than SCIT. The 2010 ARIA guidelines recommended SLIT for use in adults with seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis (AR) and children with seasonal, but not perennial, AR. The US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality states that the superiority of administration between SCIT and SLIT is not known, but moderate grade evidence from 2013 favors SCIT over SLIT for allergic nasal and/or eye symptom control. SLIT is a very safe way to correct Th2-mediated allergic diseases; however, more studies are needed to fully measure its therapeutic effects.

Specific Immunotherapy in Atopic Dermatitis

Allergen specific immunotherapy (SIT) using house dust mite (HDM) extracts has been performed mainly with patients of asthma and allergic rhinitis. In the meanwhile, there has been a long debate on the efficacy of SIT in atopic dermatitis (AD) with only a few double-blind placebo-controlled trials. However, several randomized controlled trials of SIT in AD revealed significant improvement of clinical symptoms and also, positive result was shown by a following meta-analysis study of these trials. In order to predict and evaluate the treatment outcome, finding a biomarker that can predict treatment responses and treatment end-points is critical but it is very challenging at the same time due to the complexity of causes and mechanisms of AD. Other considerations including standardization of the easiest and safest treatment protocol and optimizing the treatment preparations should be studied as well. This review summarizes the basics of SIT in AD including the brief mechanisms, treatment methods and schedules, and also highlights the clinical efficacy of SIT in AD along with mild, controllable adverse reactions. Immunologic effects and studies of various biomarkers are also introduced and finally, future considerations with upcoming studies on SIT were discussed.

Effect of clinical nursing pathway on allergic rhinitis in patients with subcutaneous immunotherapy / 现代临床护理

Objective To explore the effect of clinical nursing pathway(CNP)on allergic rhinitis in patients with subcutaneous immunotherapy.Methods One hundred and twenty patients with allergic rhinitis treated with subcutaneous immunotherapy were equally randomized into the observation group and the control group.The former group were managed with clinical nursing pathway and the latter received only routine nursing care.The curative effect of subcutaneous immunotherapy was compared between the two groups including local adverse reactions,treatment compliance,patients' satisfaction and quality of life.Results The scores by symptom assessment at time points of half a year,years 1,2 and 3 showed the symptoms at different time points between the groups were significantly different by the comparison between time and the interactive effect of main effect(F=678.24,P<0.01),and the symptoms in the two groups were both alleviated with the extension of treatment due to the compared time effect at F=47.16, P<0.01.The scores on the symptoms in the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group at different time points(P<0.01).The experiment group was better than the control group in terms of local adverse reactions,treatment compliance, quality of life and patient's satisfaction(P<0.01)Conclusion Clinical nursing pathway can improve patient's compliance,improve immunotherapy,reduce adverse reactions and improve the quality of life of patients as well as patients' satisfaction.