DSEN Abstract
Allergen immunotherapy for the treatment of allergic rhinitis and/or asthma: an umbrella review

What is the issue?

• Allergic rhinitis and asthma are important public health concerns, yet there is no consensus about the benefits and harms of allergen-specific immunotherapy to treat these conditions.

What was the aim of the study?

• The objective of this project was to summarize the current evidence for the benefits and harms of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).

How was the study conducted?

• This study was conducted using an umbrella review (systematic review of reviews) methodology.
• We searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library and the grey literature (November 2016) for systematic reviews involving children or adults with allergic rhinitis or asthma. Outcomes were summarized narratively (benefits: total combined symptom–medication score, symptom score, medication score, disease-specific quality of life, adherence; and harms: anaphylaxis, death, local and systemic reactions).

What did the study find?

• Twenty-three systematic reviews were included.
• SCIT and SLIT were more effective than placebo for most outcomes. SCIT was better than SLIT at improving medication and symptom scores, with no differences in quality of life; however, data were limited for this comparison. Anaphylaxis and death were infrequently reported.
• Few reviews assessed benefits or harms among children.
• Allergen immunotherapy appears to be effective among patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma.
• The safety of allergen immunotherapy is not conclusively established, although death and anaphylaxis appear to be rare.

PROSPERO registration: CRD42015024590

Date modified:

2025-11-28