Accelerated immunotherapy schedules and premedication.

Area of Science:

• Allergy and Immunology
• Immunotherapy Research

Background:

• Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) involves buildup and maintenance phases.
• Traditional SCIT requires numerous patient visits over an extended period.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe accelerated immunotherapy schedules.
• To highlight the benefits of reduced office visits with these protocols.

Main Methods:

• Review of common accelerated immunotherapy schedules in the US: rush and cluster immunotherapy.
• Description of cluster immunotherapy: sequential allergen injections on single, nonconsecutive days.
• Description of rush immunotherapy: rapid administration of higher doses over 1-3 days.

Main Results:

• Accelerated schedules significantly reduce the time to reach the maintenance immunotherapy dose.
• Cluster immunotherapy reaches maintenance doses in 4-8 weeks.
• Rush immunotherapy achieves maintenance doses within 1-3 days.

Conclusions:

• Accelerated immunotherapy protocols, such as rush and cluster schedules, offer an efficient alternative to traditional SCIT.
• These methods decrease the number of required patient visits, potentially improving treatment adherence and accessibility.