Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026
08:47
Symptom Assessment of Patients with Allergic Rhinitis Using an Allergen Exposure Chamber
Published on: March 3, 2023
Cost-Effectiveness of Allergen Immunotherapy for Allergic Rhinitis: A Systematic Review
Joshua Jacob1,2,3, Andrew Fong1,3,4,5, Caroline Joyce1
1Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Allergy
|May 7, 2026
Summary
Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is a cost-effective treatment for allergic rhinitis, offering long-term benefits over symptomatic pharmacotherapy. Both subcutaneous (SCIT) and sublingual (SLIT) approaches provide economic value, especially for patients with asthma.
Area of Science:
- Allergy and Immunology
- Health Economics
- Pharmacoeconomics
Background:
- Allergic rhinitis presents a significant global health and economic challenge.
- Symptomatic pharmacotherapy offers only temporary relief for allergic rhinitis.
- Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) provides disease-modifying effects but incurs higher initial costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and synthesize economic evaluations comparing AIT (SCIT and SLIT) with symptomatic pharmacotherapy (SP).
- To assess the cost-effectiveness of AIT interventions for allergic rhinitis.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of electronic databases for economic evaluations.
- Inclusion of 35 eligible economic evaluations.
- Narrative synthesis due to methodological heterogeneity.
Main Results:
- 91% of evaluations (32 out of 35) concluded AIT is cost-effective.
- Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios generally fell below willingness-to-pay thresholds.
- Both SCIT and SLIT demonstrated economic value, particularly in patients with comorbid asthma and with sustained post-treatment benefits.
Conclusions:
- Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is an economically rational investment for allergic rhinitis.
- Findings support AIT for policymakers' reimbursement decisions.
- Future research should focus on health utility endpoints for direct estimation.
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