PMID- 37352680 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20231102 LR - 20231102 IS - 1532-818X (Electronic) IS - 0196-0709 (Linking) VI - 44 IP - 5 DP - 2023 Sep-Oct TI - Clinical efficacy and safety of coseasonal initiation of Artemisia annua sublingual immunotherapy on patients with Artemisia-induced rhinoconjunctivitis. PG - 103942 LID - S0196-0709(23)00156-4 [pii] LID - 10.1016/j.amjoto.2023.103942 [doi] AB - PURPOSE: Patients with seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (SARC) might seek evaluation and treatment when symptoms appear during the pollen season. It is unclear whether coseasonal-initiated sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) would be effective and safe for SARC. This study aims to identify the feasibility of initiating Artemisia annua SLIT during the pollen season. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients with Artemisia-induced SARC were equally recruited into the SLIT and control groups during the pollen season in 2021. The SLIT group was treated with standardized Artemisia annua SLIT drops using a modified dosing schedule combined with pharmacotherapy, while the control group only received pharmacotherapy. Diary cards for clinical symptoms, rescue medication use, and adverse events (AEs) were recorded during the pollen seasons. Objective measures, including average daily combined scores of medication and rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms (CSMRS), total rhinoconjunctivitis symptom score (TRSS), total medication score (TMS), and the score of visual analog scale (VAS) were calculated to evaluate the efficacy of SLIT. Safety was assessed through the occurrence and severity of AEs. RESULTS: In total, 80.0 % (24/30) patients in the SLIT group and 86.67 % (26/30) patients in the control group completed the study. The severity of SARC, which was assessed by objective measures including CSMRS, TRSS, TMS, and VAS of the SLIT group and the control group, was generally at the same level during the 2021 pollen season, except for the medical consumption, which the score of TMS was slightly higher in the SLIT group. After one year of treatment, the scores of CSMRS, TRSS, and VAS in the SLIT group were significantly improved compared with the control group (all P < 0.001), and the difference in the TMS between the two groups disappeared (P > 0.05). Moreover, clinical improvement of the four objective measures was also observed in the SLIT group compared with the baseline value (P < 0.001). Overall, 9/24 patients in the SLIT group experienced mild local AEs, and two patients experienced mild systemic AEs during the SLIT period. CONCLUSIONS: This controlled preliminary study identified that coseasonal-initiated Artemisia annua SLIT treatment for one year was generally safe and effective in improving the symptoms of SARC patients induced by Artemisia annua pollen. CI - Copyright (c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FAU - Feng, Yan AU - Feng Y AD - Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Hospital, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China; Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. FAU - Cao, Yingzi AU - Cao Y AD - Nursing College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. FAU - Liu, Ying AU - Liu Y AD - Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Hospital, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China; Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. FAU - Wang, Qian AU - Wang Q AD - Nursing College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. FAU - He, Chan AU - He C AD - Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Hospital, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China; Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. FAU - Hao, Jianli AU - Hao J AD - Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Hospital, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China; Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. FAU - Zhang, Kejun AU - Zhang K AD - Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Hospital, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China; Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. Electronic address: zhangkejun54@126.com. FAU - HuangFu, Hui AU - HuangFu H AD - Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Hospital, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China; Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. Electronic address: 13934518228@163.com. LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20230607 PL - United States TA - Am J Otolaryngol JT - American journal of otolaryngology JID - 8000029 RN - 0 (Allergens) SB - IM MH - Humans MH - *Sublingual Immunotherapy/adverse effects MH - *Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal/therapy MH - Allergens MH - *Artemisia annua MH - *Conjunctivitis, Allergic/therapy MH - Treatment Outcome OTO - NOTNLM OT - Aeroallergens OT - Allergic rhinitis OT - Artemisia OT - Coseasonal initiation OT - Seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis OT - Sublingual immunotherapy COIS- Declaration of competing interest All authors declare no financial or commercial conflicts of interest. EDAT- 2023/06/23 19:11 MHDA- 2023/06/23 19:12 CRDT- 2023/06/23 18:05 PHST- 2023/03/10 00:00 [received] PHST- 2023/05/11 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2023/06/03 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2023/06/23 19:12 [medline] PHST- 2023/06/23 19:11 [pubmed] PHST- 2023/06/23 18:05 [entrez] AID - S0196-0709(23)00156-4 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.amjoto.2023.103942 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Am J Otolaryngol. 2023 Sep-Oct;44(5):103942. doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2023.103942. Epub 2023 Jun 7.