Subcutaneous immunotherapy with aeroallergens: safety profile assessment

Area of Science:

• Allergy and Immunology
• Pharmacology
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Allergen subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) is a common treatment for allergic diseases.
• While effective, SCIT can elicit adverse reactions, ranging from local to severe systemic responses.
• Characterizing these reactions is crucial for optimizing patient safety and treatment protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the types and frequency of adverse reactions in patients undergoing SCIT.
• To evaluate the overall safety profile of SCIT in a real-world clinical setting.
• To identify factors influencing reaction occurrence, such as allergen type and treatment phase.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of medical records from patients receiving SCIT between 2013 and 2016.
• Data collection included patient demographics, treatment duration, and detailed descriptions of all reported adverse events.
• Incidence rates for local reactions (LR) and severe systemic reactions (SR) were calculated per injection and per patient.

Main Results:

• A total of 7372 SCIT injections were administered to 323 patients.
• Adverse reactions occurred in 17.6% of patients (93 reactions total, 1.3% of injections).
• Local reactions (LR) were most common (1.1% of injections), while severe systemic reactions (SR) were rare (0.19% of injections), all classified as grade 1.

Conclusions:

• Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) demonstrates a favorable safety profile.
• The incidence of severe systemic reactions (SR) is low, and none exceeded grade 1 in this cohort.
• SCIT is a safe and well-tolerated treatment option for allergic conditions, particularly when managed appropriately.