Individualized sublingual immunotherapy with dynamic maintenance dose ascending for house dust mite-induced allergic rhinitis.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Precision dosing in sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has become a hotspot gradually, yet no standardized dose adjustment pattern for house dust mite (HDM)-SLIT. This study aims to investigate the clinical feasibility of the dynamic maintenance dose ascending regimen for individualized SLIT. METHODS: A total of 258 allergic rhinitis (AR) patients treated with HDM-SLIT were included in this retrospective study. Patients were divided into the regular dose (RD) group (n = 101) and the high dose (HD) group (n = 157) according to different maintenance dosages of SLIT. In the RD group, patients received the fixed dose recommended by the manufacturer. In the HD group, patients received a maximum tolerance dose determined by dynamic dose ascending. The clinical efficacy was evaluated by combined symptom and medication score (CSMS) and visual analogue scale score (VAS) at the baseline, 0.5-year, 1-year, and 2-year. The safety was evaluated by adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: Significant reductions of CSMS and VAS at 0.5-year, 1-year, and 2-year were observed in both the RD group and the HD group compared to the baseline (P < 0.05). In addition, greater improvements in these clinical parameters from 0.5- to 2-year were found in the HD group compared to the RD group (P < 0.05). For subgroup analysis in the HD group, no significant differences in CSMS and VAS were observed among subgroups of patients <14 years old and patients ≥14 years old (P > 0.05). No serious AEs in the two groups and no significant differences were observed between the AE incidence rate of the RD group and HD group during the incremental and maintenance phases. CONCLUSIONS: The 2-year HDM-SLIT with dynamic maintenance dose ascending regimen offers an "optimal" treatment for AR patients while maintaining safety. This study introduced a pattern for individualized dose adjustment in clinical practice, offering potential benefits for AR patients.