Risk of anaphylaxis in cluster vs standard subcutaneous multiallergen immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Cluster schedules for subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy (AIT) require significantly fewer injections, but there have been conflicting reports regarding the risk of systemic reactions (SR). OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of SRs during the build-up stages of multiallergen standard vs cluster immunotherapy. METHODS: Data on SRs were collected prospectively from 91 urban adult patients who underwent either standard or cluster AIT at the Johns Hopkins Allergy and Asthma Center from 2014 to 2022. The SRs were recorded during the build-up phase and compared for both protocols using Pearson's χ2, Fisher exact test, and multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: Overall, SR rates were 21% for patients in the standard schedule and 37% for patients in the cluster immunotherapy schedule, which was not statistically different (P = .08). However, the SR rate for each injection was 0.69% per injection in the standard protocol and 2.29% per injection in the cluster schedule (incident rate ratio = 3.3). All SRs (100%) in both groups occurred in the second half of the build-up phase. Multivariate regression revealed that the target prescription protein nitrogen units and the number of allergens in the treatment vial did not influence SR rates (odds ratio = 1.00 and 1.06, respectively). CONCLUSION: The overall incidence of SR was not statistically different for cluster and standard AIT protocols. However, because cluster patients received approximately half the number of injections, the risk for SR per individual injection is more than 3-fold higher than that of standard immunotherapy.

Food Sublingual Immunotherapy Using Consistent, Cheaper and Customizable Oral Immunotherapy Solutions.

Food SLIT (sublingual immunotherapy) is a food desensitization method with a daily maintenance dose of <10 mg for up to 5 years. Many protocols use commercially available skin test extracts. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) treatment solutions have consistent protein concentrations, are comparatively cheaper and customizable and therefore were adapted for use in a published SLIT dosing schedule.

Oral immunotherapy using weight by volume solutions.

Adapting the subcutaneous immunotherapy methods and schedule for use in oral immunotherapy eases the implementation of oral immunotherapy by simplifying the solution creation process and potentially improves safety with dosing transparency.