July 21, 2014

Trends in Specific Immunotherapy for Allergic Rhinitis: A Survey of Chinese ENT Specialists

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Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2014 Jul;6(4):296-303. English.
Published online 2014 February 13.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4168/aair.2014.6.4.296 
Copyright © 2014 The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology • The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease
Han Zhou,1 Qi-Lei Tao,1,2 Jun-Min Wei,3 Geng Xu,4 and Lei Cheng1,5
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
2Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Changzheng Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
3Editorial Office, Chinese Journal of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Chinese Medical Association, Beijing, China.
4Institute of Otorhinolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
5International Centre for Allergy Research, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.

 Correspondence to: Lei Cheng, MD, PhD, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China. Tel: +86-(0)25-6813-6031; Fax: +86-(0)25-8378-0934; Email: jspent@126.com 
Received June 24, 2013; Revised August 13, 2013; Accepted September 24, 2013.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose
Specific immunotherapy (SIT) is a suitable but uncommon treatment option for allergic rhinitis (AR) in China. The current understanding and attitude of Chinese ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialists in regards to SIT is unclear. This study investigates current trends in the awareness and application status of SIT among Chinese ENT specialists.
Methods
We performed a nationwide, cross-sectional survey with a specially designed questionnaire given to 800 ENT specialists in China. A member of the trained research group conducted face-to-face interviews with each respondent.
Results
Most of the respondents considered AR (96.0%) and allergic asthma (96.0%) the most suitable indications for SIT. Of all respondents, 77.0% recommended the application of SIT as early as possible; in addition, SIT was considered 'relatively controllable and safe' by most respondents (80.6%). The highest allergen-positive rate in AR was associated with house dust mite (47.7%) and obvious differences existed among geographical regions. Conventional subcutaneous immunotherapy was the most highly recommended treatment option (96.2%). 'The high cost of SIT' (86.6%) and 'lack of patient knowledge of SIT' (85.2%) were probably the main reasons for the lower clinical use of SIT in China.
Conclusions
Most cases showed that the opinions of Chinese ENT specialists appeared to be in agreement with recent SIT progress and international guidelines; however, many areas still need to enhance the standardization and use of SIT in China. Clinical guidelines for SIT require improvement; in addition, Chinese ENT specialists need continuing medical education on SIT.
Keywords: Allergic rhinitisspecific immunotherapydata collectionChinese otolaryngologists.

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