10-YEAR FOLLOW-UP IN PEDIATRIC-PATIENTS WITH ALLERGIC BRONCHIAL-ASTHMA - EVALUATION OF SPECIFIC IMMUNOTHERAPY

Specific immunotherapy as a treatment for bronchial asthma has been a controversial field. A collaborative study was designed in an attempt to further define the possible contribution of specific immunotherapy in a pediatric population. One hundred and sixty-six patients were treated with immunotherapy and 248 received no immunotherapy. The results were compared during 10 years of follow-up in both groups. There was a significant decrease in the number of acute crisis in the treated group (p < 0.05). However, no differences were seen in the number of hospital admissions or in the quality of life between the treated and untreated groups, The treated group required significantly fewer drugs (p < 0.05). Thus, it is probable that the untreated group shows me same clinical indexes as the treated group due to their increased use of medication. Specific immunotherapy represents an effective treatment that changes the natural course of allergic bronchial asthma in pediatric patients.