Side effects during subcutaneous immunotherapy in children with allergic diseases.

BACKGROUND: Allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only causal form of therapy for IgE-mediated allergic diseases. Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) is considered safe and well tolerated in adults, yet there is less evidence of safety in the pediatric population. METHODS: A non-interventional prospective observing longitudinal study was carried out to determine the incidence of local and systemic side effects by SCIT, routinely performed in pediatric patients. A total of 581 pediatric patients were observed in 18 study centers between March 2012 and October 2014, recording 8640 treatments and 10 015 injections. RESULTS: A total of 54.6% of the patients experienced immediate local side effects at least once; delayed local side effects were seen in 56.1%. Immediate systemic adverse reactions occurred in 2.2% of patients; 7.4% experienced delayed systemic side effects. However, severe systemic side effects (grade III in the classification of Ring and Messmer) were seen in 0.03% of all treatments, all appearing within 30 minutes after the injections. No grade IV reactions were observed. In addition, many potential risk factors were investigated, yet only a few were found to be associated with the occurrence of side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Subcutaneous immunotherapy is a safe form of therapy in pediatric patients, with similar rates of local side effects compared to adult patients and low rates of severe systemic side effects. However, local and systemic reactions occurring later than 30 minutes after injection were observed more often than expected, which makes it essential to be attentive on behalf of pediatricians, patients, and parents.

Safety and efficacy in children of an SQ-standardized grass allergen tablet for sublingual immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Immunotherapy with the SQ-standardized grass tablet Grazax is efficacious and well-tolerated in adult patients with rhinoconjunctivitis. Allergic asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis are closely linked, and a strategy combining treatment of the upper and lower airways is recommended. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of treatment with the grass tablet on grass pollen-induced rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma as well as the immunologic response and the safety profile in children. METHODS: A total of 253 children age 5 to 16 years, with grass pollen-induced rhinoconjunctivitis with/without asthma, were randomized 1:1 to active treatment or placebo. Treatment was initiated 8 to 23 weeks before the start of the grass pollen season 2007 and continued throughout the entire season. Symptomatic medication was provided as relief medication to both groups in a stepwise fashion. Primary endpoints were rhinoconjunctivitis symptom and medication scores. RESULTS: The rhinoconjunctivitis symptom and medication scores and the asthma symptom score were all statistically significantly different between the 2 treatment groups. The differences in medians relative to placebo were 24%, 34%, and 64% in favor of active treatment. The immunologic response was similar to that observed in adults. The most common adverse reaction was oral pruritus, reported by 40 subjects (32%) in the active and 3 (2%) in the placebo group. Six subjects withdrew because of adverse events. No serious adverse events were assessed as treatment-related. CONCLUSION: Immunotherapy with the grass tablet reduced grass pollen-induced rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma symptoms in a pediatric population and introduced an immunomodulatory response, consistent with treatment of the underlying allergic disease. The treatment was well tolerated.