The Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, has carried out a study to determine whether there is a pattern in the response to skin tests to inhalant allergens that can be associated with the risk of systemic reaction to subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy (SCIT). SCIT is historically associated with the risk of a systemic reaction, and although risks have been identified, the incidence of SCIT related reactions has not changed in recent years.

Patterns of systemic reaction from immunotherapy were examined to determine whether higher skin tests responses were associated with elevated risk for reaction in a retrospective review from January 2001 to December 2007. The results showed that skin tests with a greater number of responses to inhalant skin testing are indeed associated with a significantly elevated risk for systemic reactions in patients receiving SCIT.

Source: PubMed

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