Sublingual immunotherapy: other indications

Giovanni Passalacqua1, Enrico Compalati, Giorgio Walter Canonica

  • 1Allergy and Respiratory Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Padiglione Maragliano, Largo R. Benzi 10, Genoa 16132, Italy.

Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) represents a significant advance and it seems particularly suitable in pediatric patients. There are favorable results for food allergy in controlled trials. For latex allergy, the results of several trials are encouraging. For atopic dermatitis, previous experience with subcutaneous immunotherapy and some earlier trials suggest the possible application of SLIT in children with mild to moderate dermatitis and sensitization to dust mite, but this recommendation is considered insufficiently evidence based. In hymenoptera allergy, the only trial available is a proof-of-concept study in large local reactions that needs to be confirmed in well-controlled studies.

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