[Serious systemic adverse events associated with allergen-specific immunotherapy in children with asthma].

Objective To retrospectively assess serious systemic adverse effects of standardized dust-mite vaccine in children with asthma. Methods Medical records of 704 children(5-17 years in age) with asthma between January, 2005 and December, 2011 were reviewed. Serious systemic adverse events following treatment with a standardized dust-mite vaccine in these children were analyzed. Results A total of 336 systemic adverse reactions were observed in 17.0%(120/704) of the patients analyzed of these adverse reactions, 18(5.4%) were serious(level 3), 318(94.6%) were not serious(below level 3), and no single case of anaphylactic shock(level 4) was recorded. Systemic adverse events occurred most frequently in the 5 to 11-year age group and in the summer season(from June to August). In the 18 severe cases, the peak expiratory flow(PEF) dropped by 20% immediately after the vaccine injection, and other major clinical symptoms included cough, wheezing and urticaria. All children with serious systemic adverse effects were given inhaled hormone and atomized short-acting beta agonists, oral antihistamines, intravenous dexamethasone and/or intramuscular adrenaline. After these treatments, the clinical symptoms were significantly relieved. Conclusions The rate of serious systemic adverse events following allergen-specific immunotherapy is relatively low in children with allergic asthma. Conventional medications are effective in managing these immunotherapy-associated adverse events.