Reviews and feature articleMultiallergen immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis and asthma
Section snippets
Methods
Articles reviewed in the current study were selected in a 2-part process. Part 1 consisted of searching existing English and non-English language review articles and meta-analyses to identify studies that used 2 or more allergen extracts. Part 2 involved searching 3 databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, and EMBASE) to identify relevant articles published between 2002 and 2007. Using the year 2002 allowed the capture of all studies published after the meta-analyses
Results
In total, 13 studies published between 1961 and 2007 were identified that reported the administration of 2 or more unrelated allergens. Seven of the studies used combinations of 2 non–cross-reacting extracts; of these, 3 studies also included some patients receiving only 1 extract, and outcomes in the 2 groups (single versus multiple allergens) were not reported separately. In the other 4 studies using 2 simultaneously administered extracts, clinical outcomes were superior to placebo and, when
Discussion
An extensive search of the English and non–English language literature on allergen immunotherapy revealed only 13 articles reporting the simultaneous administration of more than 1 unrelated allergen extract. Eleven of the studies used subcutaneous administration, 1 study used sublingual administration, and 1 study used a combination of subcutaneous and sublingual administration. In 9 studies allergic rhinitis was the primary condition being treated, whereas bronchial asthma was the primary
References (35)
Prophylactic inoculation against hay fever
Lancet
(1911)Further observations on the treatment of hay fever by hypodermic inoculations of pollen vaccine
Lancet
(1911)- et al.
Effectiveness of specific immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis: an analysis of randomized, prospective, single- or double-blind, placebo-controlled studies
Clin Ther
(2000) - et al.
Metaanalysis of the efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic asthma in pediatric patients, 3 to 18 years of age
Chest
(2008) - et al.
Immunotherapy with a standardized Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extract. VI. Specific immunotherapy prevents the onset of new sensitizations in children
J Allergy Clin Immunol
(1997) - et al.
Pollen immunotherapy reduces the development of asthma in children with seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis (the PAT-study)
J Allergy Clin Immunol
(2002) - et al.
Coseasonal sublingual immunotherapy reduces the development of asthma in children with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis
J Allergy Clin Immunol
(2004) - et al.
Tolerance and short-term effect of a cluster schedule with pollen-extracts quantified in mass-units
Allergol Immunopathol (Madr)
(2004) - et al.
Immunotherapy in children with allergic asthma: effect on bronchial hyperreactivity and pharmacotherapy
J Allergy Clin Immunol
(1999) - et al.
A pre-seasonal birch/hazel sublingual immunotherapy can improve the outcome of grass pollen injective treatment in bisensitized individuals. A case-referent, two-year controlled study
Allergol Immunopathol (Madr)
(2003)
Effects of sublingual immunotherapy for multiple or single allergens in polysensitized patients
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol
Differences in clinical and immunologic reactivity of patients allergic to grass pollens and to multiple-pollen species. II. Efficacy of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, specific immunotherapy with standardized extracts
J Allergy Clin Immunol
Allergens in school dust. I. The amount of the major cat (Fel d l) and dog (Can f l) allergens in dust from Swedish schools is high enough to probably cause perennial symptoms in most children with asthma who are sensitized to cat and dog
J Allergy Clin Immunol
Dog allergen (Can f 1) and cat allergen (Fel d 1) in US homes: results from the National Survey of Lead and Allergens in Housing
J Allergy Clin Immunol
Allergen injection immunotherapy for seasonal allergic rhinitis
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
Allergen immunotherapy for asthma
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
Sublingual immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis: systematic review and meta-analysis
Allergy
Cited by (96)
Randomized double-blind pilot study of universal, species abundant, multiallergen subcutaneous immunotherapy for moderate-severe allergic rhinitis
2023, Annals of Allergy, Asthma and ImmunologyImmunotherapy to environmental allergens
2022, Allergic and Immunologic Diseases: A Practical Guide to the Evaluation, Diagnosis and Management of Allergic and Immunologic DiseasesGuidelines for the prescription of allergen immunotherapy and patient follow-up — Clinical questions and revision of the literature
2021, Revue Francaise d'AllergologieClinical aspects of sublingual immunotherapy tablets and drops
2020, Annals of Allergy, Asthma and ImmunologyApproach to Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: Testing and Treatment
2020, Medical Clinics of North America
Editorial support was funded by Greer Laboratories, Inc.
Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: H. S. Nelson is a principal investigator on research protocols for Schering-Plough, Boehringer-Ingelheim, TEVA, Novartis, Critical Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Wyeth, Sepracor, Altana, and Genentech and has provided consultation to Genentech/Novartis, Curalogic, GlaxoSmithKline, Schering-Plough, Astellas, Ception, Boehringer-Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, Dey Laboratories, Dynavax Technologies, Abbott Laboratories, MediciNova, Johnson & Johnson, VentiRx, and Dyson.