Efficacy and Safety of Specific Immunotherapy for Allergic Asthma Patients with Mold Extracts

RATIONALE: Specific Immunotherapy (SIT) is a significant treatment for allergic asthma, but there were not sufficient clinical studies that support the effectiveness of SIT for mold allergies. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of SIT with mold extracts in a 5-year study of asthma patients who were allergic to mold.

METHODS: Asthma patients who were allergic to either Alternaria alternate or Cladosporium were given SIT with mold extracts during the past 5 years. The level of asthma control, Asthma control test (ACT), Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ), medication scores and FEV₁% were regularly assessed and compared for pre- and after SIT among the patients. Adverse reactions were also recorded.

RESULTS: Twenty-four patients completed the study. 62.50% asthma patients were well controlled after SIT for 1 year, and 80.00% for 2 years, statistic significantly higher than baseline (33.33%). ACT and ACQ scores were significantly improved than baseline after SIT for 1~4 years (P<0.01). The FEV₁% [(90.79±5.73)%] at baseline was statistic significantly increased than before [(72.04±11.90)%], but there was no significant difference compared with FEV₁% after SIT (P＞0.01). The medicine scores after 2-year SIT were significantly lower than baseline (P<0.01), and continued to decline gradually during immunotherapy. The incidence of local adverse reactions was 1.4% among 6203 injections of 24 patients, and mild systemic adverse reactions were observed in 5 cases.

CONCLUSIONS: Specific Immunotherapy with mold extracts led to reduced asthma symptoms, reduced medication used, and well maintained lung function. It is an effective and safety treatment for allergic asthma patients.