Adverse reactions in venom immunotherapy protocols: conventional versus ultra-rush

Figures & data

Table 1. Comparison of the conventional and ultra-rush immunotherapy build-up groups concerning demographics, Mueller grade and venom type.

	Conventional (n = 39)	Ultra-rush (n = 32)	Total (n = 71)	Test	p
Age (mean ± sd)	35.2 ± 10.6	37.7 ± 13.9	36.3 ± 12.2	0.659*	.510
Sex, n (%)
Female	11 (28.2)	6 (18.8)	17 (23.9)	0.863^#	.353
Male	28 (71.8)	26 (81.2)	54 (76.1)
Mueller grade, n (%)
I	4 (10.3)	2 (6.2)	6 (8.5)	2.078^$	.587
II	13 (33.3)	7 (21.9)	20 (28.2)
III	15 (38.5)	14 (43.8)	29 (40.8)
IV	7 (17.9)	9 (28.1)	16 (22.5)
Venom type, n (%)
Honeybee	22 (56.4)	13 (40.6)	35 (49.3)	1.752^#	.186
Wasp	17 (43.6)	19 (50.4)	36 (50.7)

*Mann–Whitney U test, ^#Chi-square test, ^$Fisher–Freeman–Halton test.

Table 2. Comparison of the conventional and ultra-rush immunotherapy build-up groups regarding adverse reactions, large local reaction (LLR), and systemic reaction (SR).

	Conventional (n = 39)	Ultra-rush* (n = 32)	Test	p
Adverse reactions, n(%)			1.212^#	.271
No	28 (71.8)	19 (59.4)
Yes	11 (28.2)	13 (40.6)
LLR, n (%)
No	33 (84.6)	22 (68.8)	2.534^#	.111
Yes	6 (15.4)	10 (31.2)
SR, n (%)
No	34 (87.2)	29 (90.6)	0.209^$	.722
Yes	5 (12.8)	3 (9.4)

*All adverse reactions on the first day, ^#Chi-square test, ^$Fisher’s exact test.

Table 3. Comparison of the groups regarding adverse reactions.

	Adverse reactions
	No		Yes
	n	%	n	%	Test	p
Sex
Female	11	64.7	6	35.3	0.022^#	.882
Male	36	66.7	18	33.3
Mueller grade
I	5	83.3	1	16.7	1.534^$	.677
II	14	70.0	6	30.0
III	17	58.6	12	41.4
IV	11	68.8	5	31.2
Protocol
Conventional	28	71.8	11	28.2	1.212^#	.271
Ultra-rush	19	59.4	13	40.6
Venom type
Honeybee	21	60.0	14	40.0	1.185^#	.276
	26	72.2	10	27.8

^#Chi-square test, ^$Fisher–Freeman–Halton test.

Table 4. Clinical characteristics of patients with systemic reactions during the build-up phase of VIT.

Patient	Age, y	Sex	Protocol	Venom type	Sting reaction, Mueller grade	Extract dose of SR, µg	SR, Mueller grade	Serum tryptase (µg/L)
1	45	Male	UR	HB	3	20	1	None
2	51	Male	UR	HB	3	40	2	None
3*	40	Male	UR	HB	4	10	3	4.5
4	19	Male	C	Wasp	2	20	2	4.8
5	32	Male	C	HB	2	40	2	5.7
6	39	Male	C	HB	3	40	2	8.4
7*	56	Female	C	Wasp	3	20	3	4.3
8*	24	Male	C	HB	4	80	3	6.6

HB: honeybee; UR: ultra-rush; C: conventional; SR: systemic reaction; *patients administered adrenaline.

Data availability statement

The data based on the results of the current study were obtained, are accessible from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.