Introduction Over the years the immune system suffers many morphologic and functional alterations, which result in a peak of function in puberty and a gradual decrease in the elderly. Aim Treat patients 55 years or older with allergic rhinitis with immunotherapy and then analyze the response to allergens. Materials and Methods From June 2009 to July 2010, 104 charts of patients 55 years or older with allergic complaints were evaluated. The patients were selected by anamnesis, physical examination, and otorhinolaryngologic exam. The patients had cutaneous test for mites before and after 1 year of sublingual specific immunotherapy. The cutaneous response was classified as negative (absent), light, moderate, or severe. Results Before vaccination, 42 (40.4%) patients were classified as having a severe form of allergy and 62 (59.6%) as having a moderate allergy. After the specific therapy, 40 (38.4%) patients were classified as negative (absent), 37 (35.6%) as light, 19 (18.3%) as moderate, and 8 (7.7%) as severe responses. Conclusion Immunotherapy, a desensitization technique, is indicated in cases which patients cannot avoid the exposure to allergens and in situations where pharmacologic therapy is not ideal. Specific immunotherapy to treat the allergic rhinitis in elderly patients was efficient and had no collateral effects, and in addition to the clinical benefit, improvement in the cutaneous test could also be observed.

There is support in the literature for the use of these drugs; however, final considerations about the role of each of them have been made.

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory condition of the inside of the nose, mediated by Immunoglobulin E, in response to an inhaled allergen. Clinically, it presents with nasal obstruction, runny nose, nasal and/or eye itching, and sneezing. For its symptomatic treatment, environmental control is essential and nasal steroids are the gold standard in the adult and pediatric population. Another form of treatment is immunotherapy, changing the response to the allergen via the immune tolerance mechanism. Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) is applied weekly to monthly, in contrast to sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), which is performed daily by the patient. For an effective treatment of chronic disease, the period of treatment and discipline in maintaining it must be respected. Objective: Analyze the main reasons why the patient gives up treatment with sublingual immunotherapy. Methods: This prospective and linear study evaluated patients at the IPO Hospital (Instituto Paranaense de Otorrinolaringologia, Curitiba, Brazil) who were undergoing treatment with sublingual immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis and who, for some reason, discontinued the recommended treatment. Results: The study sample consisted of 148 patients, 79 women and 69 men. The mean duration of treatment for patients who dropped out was 8.3 months. The cost was the most cited reason, which was mentioned by 47.3% of patients; followed by irregularity of use and absence of improvement with treatment, both with 23% each. The presence of side effects was included as a reason by 9.5% and still, 25% of respondents cited several other reasons as obstacles to treatment. Conclusion: The present study concluded that the main barriers found for treatment adherence are long treatment duration, cost, and regularity of use.

Introduction Medical intervention in allergies has broadened its perspective, also focusing in the quality of life of patients. Patients are instructed, before using pharmacotherapy agents, to avoid the causal agent. Objective This study aims to analyze the sensitization profile of patients with allergic complaints and identify possible characteristics specific to each age group and gender. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study included data collected from medical records (from Multi-Test II database, Lincoln Diagnostics Inc. Decatur, Illinois) of 1,912 patients who underwent skin prick test from March to October 2013. Patients were organized and analyzed according to gender, age, and results of the allergens subtypes tested. Results The study was composed of 1,912 patients (60% male and 40% female) of ages between 3 and 87 years. Positive tests were more prevalent in quantity and intensity with the mites Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae, each with 60% of the total analyzed. In second place were pollens, especially Dactylis glomerata and Festuca pratensis. Conclusion The female and male sexes were equally atopic. Fungi and epithelia of dog and cat were not considered potential aeroallergens that could cause symptoms. However, mites are common in Paraná, Brazil. Further studies regarding the pollens are needed, as this study result diverged from the literature.

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