title: Allergen immunotherapy for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis: protocol for a systematic review.
abstract: The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is in the process of developing the EAACI Guidelines for Allergen Immunotherapy (AIT) for the Management of Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis. We seek to critically assess the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety of AIT in the management of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.
  
  
  
  We will undertake a systematic review, which will involve searching international biomedical databases for published, in progress and unpublished evidence. Studies will be independently screened against pre-defined eligibility criteria and critically appraised using established instruments. Data will be descriptively and, if possible and appropriate, quantitatively synthesised.
  
  
  
  The findings from this review will be used to inform the development of recommendations for EAACI's Guidelines on AIT.
authors.affiliation: Evidence-Based Health Care Ltd, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Sangeeta
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2823-3258
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhami
authors.affiliation: Systematic Review at Decision Resources Group Abacus International, Bicester, UK.
authors.forename: Ulugbek
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nurmatov
authors.affiliation: The David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre, St Mary's Hospital, Newport Isle of Wight, NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK ; Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery University Hospital, Mannheim and Center for Rhinology and Allergology, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pfaar
authors.affiliation: Food Allergy Referral Centre Veneto Region, Department of Women and Child Health, Padua General University Hospital, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muraro
authors.affiliation: Hospital Quiron Bizkair, Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Ignacio J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Ansotegui
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: Moises
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calderon
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Medical Faculty, Eskisehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cemal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cingi
authors.affiliation: University and Hospital of Montpellier, Inserm Paris Sorbonnes, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Demoly
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Durham
authors.affiliation: Section of Allergology, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ronald Gerth
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: van Wijk
authors.affiliation: Hans Christian Andersen Children's Hospital, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Halken
authors.affiliation: Children's Center Bethel, EvKB, Bieledelf and Allergy Center Buhr-University, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Eckard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hamelmann
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, University Hospitals Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hellings
authors.affiliation: ALC, Allergy Learning and Consulting, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Knol
authors.affiliation: Hospital Medica Sur, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Desiree
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Larenas-Linnemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, John Hopkins, Baltimore, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, 2nd Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, P and A Kiriakou Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Vivian
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Maggina
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergology, Groningen Research Institute for Asthma and COPD (GRIAC), University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hanneke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oude-Elberink
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pajno
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Ruby
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Panwankar
authors.affiliation: University of Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Elideanna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pastorello
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Constantinos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pitsios
authors.affiliation: The Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rotiroti
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Anafylaxis Network, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frans
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Timmermans
authors.affiliation: Charite University Hospital, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Olympia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tsilochristou
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Paediatrics, Respiratory and Allergic Disease Division, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Eva-Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.affiliation: Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Chartie-Universitatsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Margitta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Worm
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Otolarygology, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Luo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Allergy and Respiratory Research Group, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Aziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sheikh
keywords: Allergen immunotherapy; Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis; Allergy; Rhinitis