title: Allergen immunotherapy for IgE-mediated food allergy: protocol for a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is in the process of developing the EAACI Guidelines for Allergen Immunotherapy (AIT) for IgE-mediated food allergy. We seek to critically assess the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety of AIT in IgE-mediated food allergy.
  
  
  METHODS
  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a systematic review, which will involve searching international biomedical databases for published, in progress and unpublished evidence.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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhami
authors.affiliation: Division of Population Medicine Neuadd Meirionnydd, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Ulugbek
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nurmatov
authors.affiliation: Allergy Unit, Department of Pediatric, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni Battista
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Pajno
authors.affiliation: Allergy Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, IdISSC, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Rivas
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: 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, Southampton, UK ; Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Swiss Institute for Allergy and Asthma Research, Davos, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Cezmi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Akdis
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Allergy and Clinical Immunology Section, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alvaro-Lozano
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Pneumology and Immunology, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany ; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergy Centre, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bindslev-Jensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC USA.
authors.forename: Wesley
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Burks
authors.affiliation: Division of Asthma, Allergy and Lung Biology, Department of Paediatric Allergy, MRC and Asthma Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma, King's College London and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: du Toit
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy, Clinical Research Center for Allergy and Rheumatology, Sagamihara National Hospital, Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan.
authors.forename: Motohiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebisawa
authors.affiliation: University Hospitals of Geneva and Medical School, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eigenmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands ; Department of Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Knol
authors.affiliation: Skin and Allergy Hospital, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makela
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA.
authors.forename: Kari Christine
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Nadeau
authors.affiliation: Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, Davos, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Liam
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: O'Mahony
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy, 2nd Pediatric Clinic, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.affiliation: Allergy Clinic, Copenhagen University Hospital, Gentofte, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Poulsen
authors.affiliation: Koç University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cansin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sackesen
authors.affiliation: World Allergy Organization (WAO), Milwaukee, WI USA.
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sampson
authors.affiliation: Division of Asthma Allergy and Lung Biology, Department of Paediatric Allergy, King's College London/Guy's, and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Ree
authors.affiliation: Nederlands Anafylaxis Netwerk - European Anaphylaxis Taskforce, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frans
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Timmermans
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; Allergy; Food allergy; Sensitisation; Therapy