SEASONAL VERSUS PERENNIAL IMMUNOTHERAPY - EVALUATION AFTER 3 YEARS OFTREATMENT

We have performed a comparative study to evaluate seasonal and perenni al schedules after 3 years of immunotherapy Sixty patients suffering f rom rhinitis and/or asthma due to grass pollen sensitization were rand omly allocated to receive a semi-depot extract of Phleum pratense acco rding to a perennial or seasonal schedule. The last year of the study, 14 patients were recruited as a control group without immunotherapy. The cumulative dose was 602 BU in the perennial group and 372 BU in th e seasonal group. The frequency and severity of side-effects were simi lar and very low in both treated groups. The IgE level was significant ly lower after perennial immunotherapy at the end of the first 2 years . A seasonal decrease in specific IgG levels was observed in patients who interrupted immunotherapy, while this was not observed in patients under the perennial schedule Symptoms and medication scores did not s how differences between groups. Nevertheless, we found a significant d ifference between treated patients and the control group.