title: Allergen specific sublingual immunotherapy in children with asthma and allergic rhinitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The incidence of asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR) is significantly increased, especially in younger children. Current treatment for children with asthma and allergic rhinitis include allergen avoidance, standard pharmacotherapy, and immunotherapy. Since standard pharmacotherapy is prescribed for symptoms, immunotherapy at present plays an important role in the treatment of allergic diseases. This article presents insights into the up-to-date understanding of immunotherapy in the treatment of children with allergic rhinitis and asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed articles published from 1990 to 2014 were reviewed using the MeSH terms "asthma", "allergic rhinitis", "children", and "immune therapy". Additional articles were identified by hand searching of the references in the initial search.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Numerous studies have shown that sublingual application of allergen specific immunotherapy (SLIT) is an adequate, safe and efficient substitution to subcutaneous route of allergens administration (SCIT) in the treatment of IgE-mediated respiratory tract allergies in children. According to the literature, better clinical efficacy is connected with the duration of treatment and mono sensitized patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  At least 3 years of treatment and stable asthma before the immunotherapy are positive predictors of good clinical efficacy and tolerability of SLIT. SLIT reduces the symptoms of allergic diseases and the use of medicaments, and improves the quality of life of children with the diseases.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical Science Kragujevac, Department of Immunology, Svetozara Markovica 69, Kragujevac, 34000, Serbia. drivanica@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Đurić-Filipović
authors.affiliation: Unita di Allergologia Centro Regionale di riferimento per la prevenzione, la diagnosi e la terapia delle malattie allergiche Ospedale Universitario Borgo Trento, Piazzale Stefani 1, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caminati
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, Clinical Centre Kragujevac, Zmaj Jovina 30, 34000, Kragujevac, Serbia.
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kostić
authors.affiliation: Institution for Emergency Medical Care, Bulevar Franša Depera 5, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Đorđe
authors.initials: Đ
authors.lastname: Filipović
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital for Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis, Medical Center "Dr Dragisa Misovic", Heroja Mihajla Tepića 1, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Zorica
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Živković
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D065631:Rhinitis, Allergic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D063729:Sublingual Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens
keywords: allergic asthma; allergic rhinitis; allergic sensitization; immunotherapy