Allergen immunotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic—A survey of the German Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Oliver Pfaar - , University of Marburg (Author)
  • Eckard Hamelmann - , Bielefeld University (Author)
  • Ludger Klimek - , Center for Rhinology and Allergology Wiesbaden (Author)
  • Christian Taube - , University of Duisburg-Essen (Author)
  • Christian Vogelberg - , Department of Paediatrics, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Martin Wagenmann - , Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (Author)
  • Thomas Werfel - , Hannover Medical School (MHH) (Author)
  • Margitta Worm - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)

Abstract

Background: When the coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) emerged, concerns were also raised regarding the safety of allergen immunotherapy (AIT). The German Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI) conducted a survey to collect real-world data on the daily routine of administering subcutaneous AIT (SCIT) and sublingual AIT (SLIT) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A web-based retrospective survey using the online platform survio with 26 standardized questions was used to survey physicians treating allergic patients during the pandemic. Results: Three hundred and forty-five physicians who regularly offer and perform AIT in German-speaking countries responded to the questions. 70.4% of the respondents stated that they regularly initiated and dosed up SCIT for inhalant allergies (41.4% venom-SCIT, 73.6% SLIT), and 85.2% of the respondents stated that they continued SCIT for inhalant allergies during the maintenance phase in a regular way (59.1% venom-SCIT, 90.4% SLIT) in healthy patients without current symptoms indicating an infection with COVID-19. With regard to tolerability, there was no evidence for increased occurrence of adverse events in patients without current symptoms of COVID-19 infection during the pandemic. Conclusions: This retrospective study demonstrated adherence to national and international position papers of AIT during the COVID-19 pandemic in German-speaking countries. Besides, the survey has confirmed a good tolerability of AIT for both SCIT and SLIT.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere12134
JournalClinical and translational allergy : CTA
Volume12
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • allergen immunotherapy, COVID-19, pandemic, safety, SARS-CoV-2, survey