The long-term effectiveness of specific immunotherapy in cat allergy: a real-life study

Cat allergy has emerged as a significant health concern, particularly for individuals with persistent allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. We aimed to assess the long-term efficacy of immunotherapy with cat allergen.

41 patients who received cat SCIT were included. Long-term follow-up data were obtained from 22 of 41 patients who could be contacted after completion of immunotherapy.

Among 41 patients, 35 were female and six were male, with a median age of 35 years (IQR: 31-42). The median time after stopping AIT was 51.5 months (IQR 32.5). In the 22 patients available for long-term follow-up, the overall mean score of the RQLQ improved to 1.76 ± 1.33 from 3.52 ± 1.23 after AIT (p <0.001). AQLQ scores significantly improved in 13/16 (81.3%) patients diagnosed with asthma (p = 0.02). The visual analog score for rhinitis symptoms decreased after AIT (p = 0.001). In total, 12 of 41 patients (29.3%) experienced a local injection site reaction, two (4.9%) of them had severe asthma worsening and two (4.9%) had a systemic reaction.

Our findings suggest that allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is effective in improving symptoms of rhinitis and asthma in patients with cat dander allergy. It also provides sustained clinical benefit in patients who can be evaluated in long-term follow-up; however, larger studies are needed.