Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2000 Mar;22(3):342-50.
doi: 10.1016/S0149-2918(00)80038-7.

Effectiveness of specific immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis: an analysis of randomized, prospective, single- or double-blind, placebo-controlled studies

R N Ross  1 , H S Nelson, I Finegold
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effectiveness of specific immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis: an analysis of randomized, prospective, single- or double-blind, placebo-controlled studies

R N Ross et al. Clin Ther. 2000 Mar.

Abstract

Background: The effectiveness of specific immunotherapy (SIT) in the treatment of allergic rhinitis has been supported by empirical evidence and clinical experience.

Objective: This report is an analysis of multiple studies involving patients with documented allergic rhinitis.

Methods: All studies of the effectiveness of SIT in the treatment of allergic rhinitis published in English between the years 1966 and 1996 were identified through a MEDLINE search. All prospective, single- or double-blind, placebo-controlled studies were included in the analysis. One author (R.N.R.) extracted data from the studies. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model for a variety of clinical measures in studies that permitted the extraction of numbers of patients with positive and negative outcomes.

Results: Data were extracted from 16 studies of the clinical effectiveness of SIT in the treatment of allergic rhinitis, involving 759 patients (546 adults, 53 children, 160 all ages). In 15 (94%) of the studies, investigators concluded that SIT was effective. In the remaining study (the only one conducted in children), investigators concluded that SIT was not effective. Symptoms of allergic rhinitis were more likely to improve in patients receiving SIT than in the comparison patients (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.23). Symptom-medication scores were significantly lower in patients receiving SIT than in the comparison patients in all studies using such measures (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Results of this analysis support the conclusion that SIT is effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources