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Grass pollen immunotherapy for 3 to 4 years was still effective 3 years after being discontinued

Design
A 3 year randomised {allocation concealed^*}, blinded (patients and investigators),^* placebo controlled trial.

Setting
A hospital allergy clinic in London, United Kingdom.

Patients
32 patients (59% men) who had a history of severe seasonal allergic rhinitis, poor control of symptoms, and a positive skin prick test to timothy grass pollen extract and who had completed 3 years of maintenance therapy with grass pollen injections. Exclusion criteria were history of other allergies or medical illnesses and chronic asthma; patients with mild asthma were included if their symptoms were controlled by inhaled sympathomimetic ß₂ adrenergic agonist bronchodilators. 15 matched, but not randomised, patients with allergic rhinitis who had never received immunotherapy were recruited as a control group. Follow up was 84%.

Intervention
16 patients were allocated to continued monthly subcutaneous injection immunotherapy with a standardised, aluminium hydroxide adsorbed, depot grass pollen vaccine (1 ml injection contained 100 000 subcutaneous units, equivalent to 10 000 . . . [Full text of this article]

James T Li, MD, PhD

Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota, USA