Study population
Two hundred and one children who had allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma
or venom allergy and treated with SCIT at Hacettepe University Medical
School Hospital, Department of Pediatric Allergy between 2012 September,
2020 July were included in the study. The study protocol was reviewed
and approved by our University Institutional Review Board.
AIT was administered to patients with allergic rhinits and/or allergic
asthma who had uncontrolled AR symptoms along with medical treatments
and avoidance measures; AIT was given to patiens with asthma only if
their disease is allergic and mild to moderate in severity; and venom
immunotherapy (VIT) was administered to patients who had a history of at
least one systemic reaction after Apis mellifera and/or Vespula stings
and positive diagnostic test reactions (skin prick test(SPT) or specific
immunoglobulin E (sIgE) for culprit insect venom.
Patients’ demographic data, diagnosis of allergic disease, AIT regimen,
date of initiation of AIT, compliance and drop-out were noted from their
medical records, retrospectively up to the COVID-19 pandemic period,
afterwards it was reported prospectively. The treatment adherence of
patients in COVID-19 period was defined as the time between the first
confirmed case of COVID-19 in Turkey (Mach 15, 2020) and June 15, 2020.