The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics 2018 , Vol 60 , Num 6
Safety of subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy in children: A retrospective review and bird eye to literature
Esra Toprak-Kanık 1 ,Özge Yılmaz 1 ,Ezgi Yangın-Ergon 2 ,Ahmet Türkeli 1 ,Hasan Yüksel 1
1 Division of Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology, Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine, Manisa, Turkey
2 Department of Pediatrics, Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine, Manisa, Turkey
DOI : 10.24953/turkjped.2018.06.009 Toprak-Kanık E, Yılmaz Ö, Yangın-Ergon E, Türkeli A, Yüksel H. Safety of subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy in children: A retrospective review and bird eye to literature. Turk J Pediatr 2018; 60: 684-690. Subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy (SCIT) has been shown to improve clinical course in children with asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR). Systemic and local side-effects may be seen during its administration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate risk factors associated with systemic and local side-effects in children receiving SCIT. We performed a retrospective chart review in the children who received allergen subcutaneous immunotherapy for asthma and/or allergen rhinitis. Demographic data, diagnosis, skin prick test results, presence of additional allergic diseases, the seasonal variation of adverse events in the first and third years of SCIT were recorded. A total of 508 eligible patients were included in the study. Mean age of the children was 10.9±3.2 years, and 65.4% were male. Asthma was present in 21.9% of the children, AR in 44.7%, 33.5% of them had both asthma and AR. According to the skin prick test results, sensitivity to more than one allergen was present in 45.1%, while the most common single-allergen sensitivities were to grass pollen and dermatophagoids (32.5% and 14.4%, respectively). Ratio of systemic and local side-effects was 4.7% and 9.3%, respectively. Local side-effects were more common than systemic reaction. SCIT is a safe treatment modality while using the appropriate dose and with the administration of dose-escalation protocol. Keywords : asthma, allergic rhinitis, subcutaneous immunotherapy, side effects
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