Journal of Allergy & Therapy

Abstract

When Allergen Immunotherapy Perfectly Meets its Need: A Case Report

Elisa Boni, Cristoforo Incorvaia, Elena Makrì, Donatella Preziosi and Marina Mauro

Seasonal, pollen-induced allergic rhinitis can be managed by symptomatic drug treatment, but only allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is able to work on the causes of allergy. Usually, the effectiveness of AIT is assessed by clinical criteria, though the ideal outcome is to lose the allergic sensitization to the administered allergen(s).

Here we report the case of a patient who after three years of AIT using a grass pollen extract containing Phleum pratense, Dactilys glomerata, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Poa pratensis and Lolium perenne but not Cynodon dactylon, to which the patient was also sensitized, developed a negative response to allergy tests to the administered allergens.

After 3 years of SCIT, the patient was free of both nose and lung symptoms during the grass pollen season and had negative results to the pollens included in the extract, while C. dactylon showed a decrease in respect to basal value but not a negative result.

The findings from this case show that AIT in optimal circumstances is able to achieve a complete tolerance to the administered allergen demonstrated by the development of negative results to the grass pollens contained in the extract used for the treatment. This confirms the recent definition of AIT as a treatment fulfilling the requirements of precision medicine.