Method for assessing the sublingual immunotherapy with house dust mite allergens effectiveness in children with bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis

Background. For practical health care, tools for assessing the effect of allergen-specific immunotherapy have not been developed.

Aim. Approbation of the system for evaluating the effectiveness of sublingual immunotherapy with house dust mite allergens in patients with bronchial asthma with allergic rhinitis.

Materials and methods. 28 cases of sublingual immunotherapy treatment in patients aged 5 to 13 years, (8,6 [6,7; 11,6]) with control in pairs-copies matched by age, sex, and asthma severity were analyzed. Thus, the study included 56 patients. Patients in the control group did not receive sublingual immunotherapy. For 1 year before the start of treatment, and for the first year of treatment, the complex of clinical signs of bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis, the need for basic and emergency therapy was assessed. The scores were calculated for symptoms, for drugs, and a total Score of symptoms and drugs.

Results. During 1 year of therapy, patients showed dynamics of the total Score from 23,32 ± 1,21 points to 16,21 ± 1,77 in the main group, and from 23,99 ± 1,2 points to 20.92 ± 2.09 in control group (p = 0.028). The greatest difference was found within medication domain.

Conclusion. The developed system for assessing the symptoms and the need for medications makes it possible to show the difference between groups of patients, in favor of the sublingual immunotherapy group. For 1 year of sublingual immunotherapy therapy, a difference in the total Score dynamics and the domain of drugs was revealed between the groups. The proposed assessment system is recommended for further investigation.