Lung India (Jan 2007)
Combination of allergens in specific immunotherapy for IgE mediated allergies
Abstract
Background : The success of immunotherapy for allergies has always been contro-versial. Some of the factors, which can affect the efficacy of immunotherapy, are the type and number of allergens in the vial, concentration, time, storage tempera-ture, volume of the vial, diluent used and preservatives added. Objective : To decipher the role of combination of allergens administered in Spe-cific immunotherapy (SIT). Material and methods- patients who had a confirmed diagnosis of bronchial asthma, based on skin test and IgE were studied (n=50). Symptoms score on the scale of 1 to 4 were based on 2 factors- the frequency and the intensity. Results : Based on the guidelines of Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters (USA), it was observed that 58% of the patients, who did not benefit, received the incor-rect combination of allergens. On the other hand, the symptoms improved in all the patients who received the correct combination. Conclusion : These results clearly lay emphasis on the nature of allergens and their combination used for immunotherapy. Therefore factors such as combination of allergens should be taken into consideration for management of allergies.
