Sublingual immunotherapy in the treatment of atopic dermatitis: a systematic review using the GRADE system

Abstract

Controversy exists regarding the role of allergen immunotherapy as a therapeutic intervention for patients with atopic dermatitis and aeroallergen sensitivity. Our aim was to critically appraise the evidence supporting the use of sublingual immunotherapy for patients with atopic dermatitis and aeroallergen sensitivity. We performed a literature search using the terms "sublingual immunotherapy" and "atopic dermatitis" and "sublingual immunotherapy" and "eczema." We used the same terms to search PubMed, Ovid, and Scopus. Our limits were "Humans" and "English." We excluded articles that were not in English. These articles were analyzed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Many studies reported improvement in clinical symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Serious methodological shortcomings were noted including but not limited to lack of control group, lack of randomization, incomplete descriptions of randomization and/or allocation concealment, many enrolled subjects not completing participation, and/or data analysis not by intention to treat.