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SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2008
9/22/2008
Cluster versus conventional immunotherapy
Summary
The Chinese investigators of this paper wished to compare conventional immunotherapy with cluster immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. They studied 96 patients with persistent allergic rhinitis to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. Forty-eight were randomly assigned to cluster immunotherapy. In their protocol, the maintenance dose was reached within six weeks. Another 48 were assigned to the conventional schedule that reached a maintenance dose within 14 weeks. Eighty-nine of these subjects completed a full year of immunotherapy. The authors measured efficacy, adverse reactions, quality of life, skin tests, and serum specific IgE to D. pteronyssinus. They performed these before and after the full year of treatment.
The authors found that the cluster schedule reduced time to reach maintenance. Both forms of immunotherapy produced mild systemic adverse reactions, but there was no difference in the two schedules in this regard. Cluster immunotherapy produced earlier declines in medication use and symptoms. There were little differences between the two groups in quality of life, skin test reactivity, and serum specific IgE.
The authors concluded that cluster is a safe alternative to conventional immunotherapy, and achieves clinical effectiveness earlier.
Reference
Chang L, et al. Comparative study of cluster and conventional immunotherapy schedules with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in the treatment of persistent allergic rhinitis. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 148(2):2009 (published online September 19, 2008).
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