Allergen immunotherapy and respiratory infections in children: An encouraging experience

BACKGROUND: Allergic inflammation may promote respiratory infections (RI). House dust mite (HDM) sensitization is common in childhood. Allergen immunotherapy may cure allergy as it restores a physiological immune and clinical tolerance toward the causal allergen and exerts anti-inflammatory activity. This study retrospectively investigated whether 3 year high-dose HDM-sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) could affect respiratory infections in children with allergic rhinitis. METHODS: Globally, 33 HDM allergic children (18 males, mean age 9.3 years) were subdivided in 2 groups: 20 treated with symptomatic drugs alone (group 1) and 13 by high-dose SLIT, titrated in mcg of major allergens (group 2) for 3 years. RESULTS: SLIT-treated children had significantly (P=0.01) less RI episodes (3.6) than symptomatically-treated children (5.4). In addition, SLIT-treated children had less fever (P<0.01) and took fewer medications, such as antibiotics (P<0.05) and fever-reducers (P<0.01), than symptomatically-treated children. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study suggests that high-dose 3-year SLIT might lessen RI in allergic children.