Experience of subcutaneous immunotherapy with mite and cedar allergen

Abstract

Background: Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) has been among the most effective treatments for allergic rhinitis for over a century. However, systemic reactions remain a serious problem with SCIT; they still occur in approximately 0.2% of injections. Recently, sublingual immunotherapy has been established as a safer treatment than SCIT. However, some patients require SCIT due to disease or compliance related issues. We investigated patients who underwent SCIT at our hospital and examined its safety.

Subjects: Patients who underwent SCIT using a mite and/or Japanese cedar pollen allergen extract in our department were investigated in this study.

Results: In total, 44 patients between 5 and 58 years of age underwent SCIT, and 9 (20.5%) experienced systemic reactions. Two patients treated using only mite allergen and seven using Japanese cedar pollen and mite allergens experienced systemic reactions. There was a significantly higher frequency of systemic reactions among patients in the dose-increase phase than in the maintenance phase (p<0.01). All patients who had systemic reactions exhibited whole skin eruption. All cases were properly treated, and no serious problems occurred.

Discussion: No statistically significant difference was observed in the risk of systemic reactions between SCIT using mite and Japanese cedar pollen allergens.