title: Sublingual immunotherapy for allergic respiratory diseases: efficacy and safety.
abstract: Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) is effective and safe when properly prescribed and administered. However, a certain risk of severe side effects exists, even when the reaction is managed correctly. These potential adverse effects stimulated the search for new administration routes (nasal, bronchial, oral, sublingual), which were expected to be safer. Not all of these alternative routes provided an improved benefit-safety profile compared with SCIT. The sublingual route (SLIT) seemed to be a good candidate for the clinical practice because of its satisfactory safety profile and is now considered an acceptable alternative to SCIT in adults and children.
authors.affiliation: Allergy and Respiratory Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Padiglione Maragliano, Largo Rosanna Benzio 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy. passalacqua@unige.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Passalacqua
authors.forename: Giorgio Walter
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Canonica
mesh_terms: D000286:Administration, Sublingual; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens