Table 1 Definitions
From: Management of the polyallergic patient with allergy immunotherapy: a practice-based approach
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Allergen sources | Allergen sources are allergens from the same homologous group (e.g. Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae) |
Monosensitization | Sensitization (according to standardized SPTs or ssIgE assays) to only one of the allergens tested in the patient to date. A single “allergen” is defined in allergists’ terms, i.e. grass pollen, tree pollen, house dust mite, cat dander (even though extracts of these extracts contain tens, hundreds or even thousands of different polypeptides) |
Polysensitization | Sensitization (according to standardized SPTs or ssIgE assays) to two or more allergens |
Monoallergy | Clinically confirmed allergy to a single, sensitizing allergen (i.e. a causal relationship between exposure to the sensitizing allergen and clinical allergy symptoms) |
Polyallergy | Clinically confirmed allergy to two or more sensitizing allergens (i.e. causal relationships between exposure to two or more sensitizing allergens and clinical allergy symptoms) |
Homologous group | A group of allergens with (1) comparable physicochemical and biological properties of the source material, (2) cross-reactivity/structural homology of the allergens, (3) identical formulation of the finished product, and (4) identical production process of the allergen extract and of the finished product, as defined by the European Medicines Agency |
Allergen mixture | A single formulation containing a mixture of several allergen sources (e.g. a grass pollen source mixed with a birch pollen source) |
Single-allergen immunotherapy | Administration of an allergen immunotherapy formulation containing a single allergen source In the cases of sequential administration of two consecutive single-allergen immunotherapies.(e.g. 3 years of treatment with a house dust mite source, followed by 3 years of treatment with a grass pollen source) this does not constitute multi-allergen immunotherapy (see below) |
Multi-allergen immunotherapy | Administration of different allergen sources Multi-allergen immunotherapy can be administered either in parallel (see below) or on a mixed formulation (see below) |
Parallel multi-allergen immunotherapy | The separate administration of two or more single-allergen immunotherapy formulations in parallel during the same course of treatment |
Mixed multi-allergen immunotherapy | The administration of an allergen mixture (i.e. a single formulation containing several allergen sources) |