Purpose: Immunotherapy(IT) with Dermatophagoides farinae(D.f) or Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus(D.p) has proven to be clinically effective treatment for patients with asthma, but the mechanism and prognostic index of IT are not completely understood. We evaluated the long-term effect of conventional IT with D.f or D.p, and also investigated whether IT could prevent new sensitizations to other new allergens.
Methods: The patient group included 23 asthmatic patients with D.f- and D.p-sensitivities who visited Asan Medical Center and were treated with conventional IT(Allergopharma, Germany). The control group contained 27 asthmatic patients with D.f- and D.p-sensitivities who were not treated with IT. We compared skin test reactivity, total IgE, specific IgE, total eosinophil counts, eosinophils fraction and bronchial hyperreactivity before and three years after IT.
Results: The skin test reactivity to D.p and total eosinophil counts were decreased significantly three years after IT. But total IgE, D.f- and D.p-specific IgE, and eosinophils fraction were not changed three years after IT. The bronchial hyperreactivity by methacholine was decreased in both groups after three years. In addition, development of sensitization to new allergens happened in 13.0 percent of the IT group and 22.2 percent of the control group, but did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusion: The conventional IT with D.f and D.p could change the allergic responsiveness of the target organs, such as skin, but it could not prevent the development of new sensitizations in asthmatic children.
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