Clinical efficacy and safety of cervical intralymphatic immunotherapy for house dust mite allergic rhinitis: A pilot study

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that intralymphatic immunotherapy (ILIT), a less time-consuming alternative to conventional subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT), is safe and effective. However, because of the private location of inguinal lymph nodes, inguinal ILIT is relatively inconvenient. We proposed a novel form of ILIT that involves 3 injections of allergen into cervical lymph nodes. The aim of this study is to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of cervical ILIT on house dust mite induced allergic rhinitis (AR) in adults. Methods: In this study, we performed a prospective cohort study to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of cervical ILIT on house dust mite induced AR in adults, by comparing the symptom scores, quality-of-life scores (QOLS) and drug scores (use of rescue medication) before and after treatment. Meanwhile, side events were also recorded. Results: Cervical ILIT elicited no moderate-severe adverse events. Patients receiving cervical WIT experienced a significant improvement in nasal symptoms, eye symptoms and quality of life, as compared to baseline (P all < 0.001). A reduction in the use of rescue medication was also demonstrated (P < 0.001). Conclusions: In this first-in-human clinical study, cervical ILIT was demonstrated safe and induced allergen tolerance after 3 injections.