Parisi GF, Manti S, Papale M, Amato M, Licari A, Marseglia GL, Leonardi S. Nasal Nitric Oxide and Nasal Cytology as Predictive Markers of Short-Term Sublingual Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy Efficacy in Children with Allergic Rhinitis.
Am J Rhinol Allergy 2021;
36:323-329. [PMID:
34866408 DOI:
10.1177/19458924211060592]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Few studies have been conducted on the short-term response to sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of our experimental trial was to evaluate if two markers such as nasal nitric oxide (nNO) and nasal cytology could be useful to identify a precocious clinical efficacy of SLIT treatment.
METHODS
We enrolled 34 children aged 6 to 14 years old with diagnosis of allergic rhinitis (AR) and documented sensitization towards house dust mites. We started allergoid-monomeric tablets immunotherapy along with any conventional therapy for AR and we evaluated at baseline (T0), after one (T1), two (T2), three (T3), and six months (T6) the effects of the treatment through the study of: i) a visual analogue scale (VAS 1-10); ii) measurement of nNO; iii) measurement of FeNO; iv) nasal cytology; v) spirometry; and vi) evaluation of any conventional therapy.
RESULTS
We observed an improvement in symptoms evaluated by global VAS (T0 vs. T6: 47.13 vs. 17.57; p < .05) and a statistically significant reduction of nNO (1035.2 ± 956.08 vs. 139.2 ± 59.01; p < .05). In this case, significance was reached when the patients completed the 6 months of treatment. Cytological evaluation revealed significant reduction in nasal eosinophils (T0 vs. T6: 87% vs. 16%; p < .01). Moreover, at T0, 56% of patients had also neutrophils that were reduced up to the 8% at T6 (p < .05).
CONCLUSIONS
Our data confirm the effectiveness of SLIT treatment from a clinical perspective and identifies two biomarkers, such as nNO and nasal cytology, as predictive of treatment efficacy in the short term.
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