Retrospective study about suppression of new sensitization to cedar pollen in children who have undergone sublingual immunotherapy for house dust mites.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) with house dust mite (HDM) extract suppresses new sensitization to Japanese cedar pollen(JCP) in children with HDM-positive allergic rhinitis.

METHODS

This retrospective study was conducted at our center and included pediatric patients aged 5-15 years who visited between January 2018 and December 2020. Eligible patients tested positive for HDM-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), negative for JCP-specific IgE, and had no history of SLIT for cedar pollen. 33 patients who continued HDM SLIT for 3 years were assigned to the SLIT group, while 52 patients with allergic rhinitis who did not receive HDM SLIT formed the non-SLIT group. Patients with severe allergic comorbidities or those undergoing immunosuppressive therapy were excluded. The primary endpoints were the rate of new sensitization to Japanese cedar pollen and the cedar-specific IgE levels after 3 years. We used the chi-square test, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and logistic regression analysis to compare the groups.

RESULT

After 3 years, the rate of new sensitization to JCP was 42.4 % in the SLIT group and 51.9 % in the non-SLIT group (p = 0.383). The JCP-specific IgE level was 4.77 UA/mL in the SLIT group and 7.93 UA/mL in the non-SLIT group (p = 0.207).

CONCLUSION

The SLIT group showed a slightly lower rate of new sensitization and lower JCP-specific IgE levels; however, the differences were not statistically significant. A larger, multi-center study is needed to confirm these findings and adjust for potential confounders.