Study: Allergen injections are ineffective in treating asthma
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore suggest that commonly prescribed allergen injections may be ineffective in treating children with asthma.
In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1997; 336:324-331), the researchers tested 121 children who had allergies and moderate to severe asthma. The children, age 5 to 14, were tested for allergens, then randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group received allergy shots; the second received a placebo.
Researchers found no significant difference in improvement of asthma symptoms between the two groups over 30 months. Nevertheless, they hesitate to recommend discontinuing immunotherapy based on a single study, noting that other research indicates some benefit of allergen injections in treating pediatric asthma.
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