title: Risk factors for systemic reactions to allergen immunotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To update safety information regarding allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) in clinical practice and highlight the risk factors associated with the adverse reactions, product and each dose.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Efforts in recent years have focused on increasing our understanding of the efficacy and safety of ASIT, especially the sublingual variety (SLIT), in multicenter studies. Moreover, new Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) and an international consensus concerning ASIT have been published recently. Although no deaths as a result of subcutaneous immunotherapy or SLIT have been reported in the last 2 years, systemic reactions mainly arising from administration errors still appear. Recent studies support the safety of new forms of specific immunotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An understanding of the risk factors for each patient, product and dose, and the implementation of CPGs are the main factors that could improve the safety of ASIT. The standardization of all procedures for prescribing and administering ASIT, and the systematic collection of standardized safety data in a multicenter database (postmarketing surveillance), may be required to generate new information on the safety of ASIT.
authors.affiliation: Allergy Department, Hospital Puerta de Hierro - Majadahonda, Spain. aiglesiasc@meditex.es
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iglesias-Cadarso
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hernández-Weigand
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011358:Product Surveillance, Postmarketing; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors