It takes three years of treatment with grass pollen immunotherapy to achieve extended reduction of symptoms of allergic rhinitis, researchers reported last night.
The study found that a two year course of immunotherapy is ineffective.
Dr Stephen Durham of Imperial College London, UK, and colleagues investigated the long-term benefits of a two-year treatment approach. They carried out a randomised clinical trial of 106 adults who received this therapy.
Participants’ nasal symptoms were tested and found to be no better than those who received a placebo. This was the case for those who received the immunotherapy via a sublingual or subcutaneous route.
In yesterday’s (14 February) JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association the team write: "International guidelines regarding immunotherapy recommend a minimum of three years of treatment with both delivery methods [subcutaneous, sublingual].
"If a two-year regimen had demonstrated long-term benefits in addition to efficacy, this could have represented cost savings in terms of clinical resources and improved convenience for the patient. Because this was not observed, clinicians should be advised to follow established guidelines that recommend at least three years treatment."
Professor Durham adds: "This study shows that whereas both immunotherapy treatments were highly effective, two years of treatment was insufficient for long-term benefits.
"You treat patients for three years and then they have a big improvement in their hay fever for several years afterwards. Exposing people to grass pollen in this way is a very effective treatment for people who really have debilitating hay fever."
Scadding, G. W. et al. Effect of 2 years of treatment with sublingual grass pollen immunotherapy on nasal response to allergen challenge at 3 years among patients with moderate to severe seasonal allergic rhinitis. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 14 February 2017; doi:10.1001/jama.2016.21040 [Abstract]
Leave a Reply