Long-term Effects of Specific Allergen Immunotherapy Against House Dust Mites in Polysensitized Patients With Allergic Rhinitis.
OBJECTIVE
Allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only currently available treatment to modify the natural history of allergic rhinitis (AR). If patients are polysensitized, it is difficult to identify the allergen causing the allergic symptoms. We evaluated the effectiveness of immunotherapy against house dust mites (HDMs) in AR patients polysensitized to both HDMs and seasonal allergens.


METHODS
Thirty AR patients polysensitized to both HDMs and seasonal allergens (group A) and 30 patients sensitized to HDMs only (group B) were enrolled in this study. All subjects who received immunotherapy against HDMs for more than 2 years were evaluated by the multiple allergen simultaneous test (MAST) to determine the specific IgE level in luminescence units, total eosinophil counts in peripheral blood, serum total IgE, total nasal symptom scores, and the rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire (RQLQ) before and after immunotherapy.


RESULTS
There were no statistical differences in levels of total and specific IgE, or total eosinophil count between the two groups. The total nasal symptom scores, RQLQ and medication scores significantly decreased after immunotherapy in both groups, however no significant differences were noted between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
We determined that the primary causative allergen of AR in Seoul, Korea is perennial allergens, such as HDMs, rather than seasonal allergens. This study provides a reference for the selection of allergens to use in immunotherapy for polysensitized AR patients living in an urban environment.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
Sang Hoon
SH
Kim
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
Seung Youp
SY
Shin
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
Kun Hee
KH
Lee
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
Sung Wan
SW
Kim
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
Joong Saeng
JS
Cho
Immunotherapy; allergic rhinitis; house dust mite; polysensitization