Efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy in children with allergic rhinitis

Abstract

Background More than 8.5% of children aged 6–7 suffer from allergic rhinitis, and it is even more common among teenagers, aged 13–14 (14%). Allergic rhinitis worsens the quality of life for children of all ages. It can cause sleep difficulties, reduce participation in daily activities, and negatively impact academic performance, physical activity, and social functioning. Studies show that sublingual immunotherapy has a positive effect on allergy symptoms and that systemic side effects are considered rare for this type of treatment.

Method A retrospective cohort study was performed using the data from the Department of Pediatrics of the Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences outpatient registry to acquire the data of patients using sublingual immunotherapy. The data of 44 patients was collected. Data was analyzed using IBM Statistics SPSS for frequencies, t and χ2 tests.

Results The mean age when starting sublingual immunotherapy was 6.89 years. 43% of patients immunotherapy duration was less than 1 year, almost 23% - more than 3 years. The most prevalent allergy risk factor was living in the city (59.1%) as shown in figure 1. More than 93% of patients had congested nose before starting immunotherapy. Sneezing and nose itching was a problem for 88.6% of children. Runny nose bothered 79% of patients. A positive effect was seen in 91%. Due to this treatment, 20.5% of patients had no longer allergy symptoms and did not need medication for them. 9% did not feel any positive effect. 90.9% of patients did not experience any side effects. However, out of those who did have them, the most common was stomach ache (6.8%) and nausea (2.3%).

Conclusion Most patients had a positive effect during the use of sublingual immunotherapy. Only a small number of patients did not feel any changes in their allergy symptoms. Furthermore, most patients did not encounter any side effects.