0000000000307029
AUTHOR
Paola Puccinelli
Catching allergy by a simple questionnaire
Background Identifying allergic rhinitis requires allergy testing, but the first-line referral for rhinitis are usually primary care physicians (PCP), who are not familiar with such tests. The availability of easy and simple tests to be used by PCP to suggest allergy should be very useful. Methods The Respiratory Allergy Prediction (RAP) test, based on 9 questions and previously validated by a panel of experts, was evaluated in this study. Results An overall number of 401 patients (48.6% males, age range 14–62 years) with respiratory symptoms was included. Of them, 89 (22.2%) showed negative results to SPT, while 312 (77.8%) had at least one positive result to SPT. Cohen’s kappa coefficient…
Economic evaluation of sublingual immunotherapy vs. symptomatic treatment in allergic asthma.
Background The worldwide increased prevalence of allergic diseases, and especially of respiratory allergy, is paralleled by increased health costs. This requires consideration of the cost to efficacy ratio of the available treatment to identify the optimal choice. Objective To compare the different economic relevance, over a long evaluation time, of symptomatic pharmacologic therapy and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) in patients with allergic asthma. Methods Seventy patients with perennial allergic asthma, sensitized to dust mites, were enrolled; 50 of these patients were treated with SLIT against house dust mites and 20 were treated with symptomatic drugs. The patients were evaluated for …