Table I.
Patients and study characteristics of NRS and RCT included in meta-analyses
| Study, year (country) | Study type | No. of patients (enrollment→observation) | No. male (%) | Age (years), mean ± SD (range) | Mono- or polysensitization | Asthma (%) | Rhinitis (%) | Measure∗ | Treatment duration (months) | Evaluation time point (months) | Cumulative dose (IR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRS | |||||||||||
| Bahceciler, 2005 (Turkey)26 | O, P, U, SC | 14→14 | 8 (57.1) | 7.6 ± 2.5 | Mono | 100 | 100 | SS; MS | 12 | 12 | 7,000 (14,000/y) |
| Cadario, 2008 (Italy)27 | O, P, U, SC | 20→17 | NR | 5-50 | Mono | 0 | 100 | SMS | 12 | 12 | 40,320 |
| Ciprandi, 2010 (Italy)28 | O, P, U, MC | 16→16 | NR | 11.8 (5.2-17.7) | Mono/poly | NR | NR | VAS-SS↑, VAS-MS↑ | 12 | 12 | NR |
| Ferrés, 2011 (Spain)29 | O, R, U, SC | 78→73 | 34 (43.6) | 10.96 ± 3.0 | NR | NR | 100 | VAS-SS↓, MS | 24 | 12 | 36,000 |
| Park, 2012 (South Korea)30 | O, P, U, SC | 112→88 | 49 (55.7) | 9.6 (5-15) | Mono | NR | 100 | SS, MS | 12 | 12 | 43,200 |
| Tosca, 2014 (Italy)31 | O, R, U, SC | 39→39 | 22 (56.4) | 13 | NR | 71.8 | 84.6 | VAS-SS↑ | 36 | 36 | 46,800 |
| Cingi, 2015 (Turkey)32 | O, P, U, MC | 186→186 | 51 (27.4) | 27.04 (19-51) | NR | 0 | 100 | SS | 12 | 12 | NR |
| Soh, 2016 (Singapore)33 | O, P, U, SC | 39→33 | 31 (82.1) | 24† (7-18), 15† (19-72) | NR | 0 | 100 | SS | 24 | 12 | 43,200 |
| Novakova, 2017 (Bulgaria)34 | O, P, U, SC | 76→76 | 42 (55.3) | 26.10 ± 5.85 (18-48) | NR | 36.84 | 100 | SS† | 36 | 36 | NR |
| Novakova, 2018 (Bulgaria)35 | O, P, U, SC | 86→86 | 46 (53.5) | 26.1 ± 5.78 (18-48) | Mono | NR | 100 | VAS-SS↑ | 36 | 36 | NR |
| Kim, 2020 (South Korea)36 | O, R, U, SC | 26→15 | 20 (76.9) | 13.0 ± 9.0 | Mono | NR | 100 | SS | 12-36 (mean 24) | EOT | 37,440 |
| Jung, 2021 (South Korea)37 | O, P, U, SC | 147→39 | (68.02) | 16.5 ± 12.3 | NR | 8.3 | 100 | SS, MS | 12 | 12 | NR |
| Total | 839→682 | ||||||||||
| RCT | |||||||||||
| Mungan, 1999 (Turkey)38 | PC, SB, SC | 15→15 | 2 (13.3) | 31.67 ± 7.28 (18-41) | NR | 86 | 100 | SS; MS | 12 | 12 | 11,316 |
| Guez, 2000 (France)39 | PC, DB, SC | 36→26 | 14 (38.8) | 29.6 ± 12.4 (12-51) | Mono/poly | NR | 100 | SS; MS | 24 | 12 | 90,000 (45,000/y) |
| Bahceciler, 2001 (Turkey)40 | PC, DB, SC | 8→8 | 4 (50) | 12.4 (7.8-18) | Mono | 100 | 100 | SS; MS | 6 | 6 | 7,000 (14,000/y) |
| Tseng, 2008 (Taiwan)41 | PC, DB, MC | 30→28 | 22 (73) | 9.7 ± 3.3 | Mono | 0 | 100 | SS; MS | 6 | 6 | 37,312 (74,424) |
| O’Hehir, 2009 (Australia)42 | PC, DB→O (exten), SC | 13→9 | 3 (33.3) | 27.3 (9.3) | Mono/poly | 77.7 | 100 | SS; MS | 12 (DB) + 12 O | 24 | 85,621 (42,810/y) |
| Aydogan, 2013 (Turkey)43 | PC, DB, SC | 8→7 | 6 (85) | 8.1 ± 2.2 | Mono | 0 | 100 | SS; MS | 12 | 12 | 44,500 |
| Bozek, 2013 (Poland)44 | PC, DB, SC | 51→51 | 23 (45) | 65.78 ± 4.89 | Mono | 11.7 | 100 | SS; MS | 36 | 36 | 421,200 (140,400) |
| Potter, 2015 (South Africa)45 | PC, DB, SC | 39→32 | 14 (35.9) | 33.7 | Mono/poly | NR | 100 | SS | 24 | 24 | 96,600 (48,300) |
| Total | 200→176 |
DB, Double blind; EOT, end of treatment; exten, extension; MC, multicenter; NR, not reported; O, open; P, prospective; PC, placebo controlled; R, retrospective; SB, single blind; SC, single center; U, uncontrolled (vs standard treatment or no treatment).
∗
SS, symptom score; MS, medication score; SMS, symptom-medication score; VAS scores are as follows: VAS-SS↑, symptom assessed by VAS ascending (0 = better; 10 = worse); VAS-SS↓, symptom assessed by VAS descending (0 = worse; 10 = better); VAS-MS↑, medication receipt assessed by VAS ascending (0 = lower; 10 = higher).
†
Only nasal symptoms.